Role Models - Rohan Kapur

 Linus Torvalds 

Linus Torvalds is a Finnish Software Engineer who pioneered some of the most widely used software today. Namely, the Linux Kernel and the distributed revision control system Git. The Linux kernel is the most widely used kernal for Operating Systems globally and Git is the most widely used integrated programming platform in history. Linus Torvalds was born in Helinski, Finland on December 28th, 1969 into a middle-class family. He obviously had humble beginnings but grew into one of the most influential figures of modern technology. His interest in computers began at the age of 11, when he first purchased a Commodore VIC-20. He started programming for it in BASIC and ended up developing software for it himself since it was almost impossible to acquire this software in Finland. This involved him getting into the machine code of the processor he owned at the time. He ended up heavily modifying his computer with a custom Kernal and Assembler. He attended the University of Helenski and graduated with a masters in Computer Science from the NODES research group.However, his academic career was interrupted during his first year in university as he had to serve the mandatory military service for Finland. In the army, he was ranked as a Second Lieutenant and served as a ballistics calculation officer. Once back from the army, Torvalds continued his education. His thesis was titled: 'Linux: A portable Operating System' and was inspired by Andrew Tenanbaum's book, 'Operating Systems: Design and Implementation'. This is where his idea for Linux came from.

To have an impact on the world of technology as large as Linus Torvalds did is quite rare indeed. His ingenuity in creating the Linux Kernel allowed for the quick advancement in modern technologies and will most likely continue to be the most widely used kernal for a long time.

"Linus Torvalds: A Very Brief and Completely Unauthorized Biography." Linfo.org. Linfo, 28 Aug. 2004. Web. 9 Dec. 2016. 