At 31, Ishmael is the youngest person to hold the title Master Inventor in IBM's history. He has filed more than 50 patents in six years, with 10 issued in his name.

Thomas Claburn, Editor at Large, Enterprise Mobility

October 21, 2005

2 Min Read

Nizam Ishmael Jr., Master Inventor at IBM -- Photograph by Matthew Mahon

Photograph by Matthew Mahon Nizam Ishmael Jr.
Master Inventor at IBM

1


What's A Master Inventor?
"You do a little bit more thinking out of the box. You don't accept what's there. Right now, I'm doing a lot of business-integration work, which is really challenging. With all the dot-com stuff, there've been a lot of companies merging and buying other companies. So we're doing a lot of work to get their software to talk to each other."

2


Best Patent
A device that fits over a PDA's screen and can raise or lower the level of gray scale or color on a pixel. It would allow someone who's visually impaired to use these PDA devices. And since mobile phones these days are moving more and more toward being full-blown PDA devices, I think it'll be significant in the future."

3


PC-Powered Corvette
He installed a VIA motherboard that supports GPS and an entertainment system: MP3s, CDs, FM radio, satellite audio, TV, and movies. "I also have some software that lets me retune the computer in the car. I do like to work on the car. If I didn't do IT stuff or something in the medical field, I'd do something in the automotive industry."

4


Book Smarts
"I really don't get a chance to read many books. I spend more of my time looking at car forums or computer forums. And I usually read car magazines."

5


Pet Peeve
"I don't like dealing with paperwork. Especially in a big company, there's always more and more paperwork than in a small company. ...You go on a long trip, so you come back and you have to keep up with tons and tons of receipts. You'll spend two or three hours just logging all your receipts."

About the Author(s)

Thomas Claburn

Editor at Large, Enterprise Mobility

Thomas Claburn has been writing about business and technology since 1996, for publications such as New Architect, PC Computing, InformationWeek, Salon, Wired, and Ziff Davis Smart Business. Before that, he worked in film and television, having earned a not particularly useful master's degree in film production. He wrote the original treatment for 3DO's Killing Time, a short story that appeared in On Spec, and the screenplay for an independent film called The Hanged Man, which he would later direct. He's the author of a science fiction novel, Reflecting Fires, and a sadly neglected blog, Lot 49. His iPhone game, Blocfall, is available through the iTunes App Store. His wife is a talented jazz singer; he does not sing, which is for the best.

Never Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.

You May Also Like


More Insights