Computer History Museum | Oral History of Mathew Mate and Tom Yamashita @ComputerHistory | Uploaded September 2022 | Updated October 2024, 38 minutes ago.
Interviewed by Bruno Marchon on 2022-06-15 in Mountain View, CA
© Computer History Museum
Drs. Yamashita and Mate have been key innovators in the field of hard disk drive tribology. Tribology is the science of sliding bodies, which usually involves friction, wear and lubrication. The reason why it is critical to disk drive technology is because the magnetic head flies very close to the spinning disk surface under very high velocities of close to 100 miles per hour. In the disk drive industry, tribology refers not only to the reliability of the device, but also the push to lower and precisely control the head to medium spacing (HMS). During their careers, Drs. Mate and Yamashita have helped reduce HMS from a few micrometers to just a few nanometers while at the same time greatly improving the reliability of hard disk drives. This has enabled over a million-fold increase in storage densities and helped sustain the exponential growth of the internet. Dr. Yamashita began his career in the disk drive business by joining Komag at its inception in 1984 and worked there until 2007, when the company was acquired by Western Digital. He has developed many of the processes used in the manufacture of thin-film media at Komag, with 34 patents to his credit and many publications. Dr. Mathew Mate worked for 30 years in industry doing research and development of materials for nanotechnology and nanotribology applications. He started his industrial career at the IBM Almaden Research. Later, he worked in the disk drive divisions of Hitachi and Western Digital. Mathew Mate is best known for his research into the molecular and atomic level origins of tribology, and he authored a book: “Tribology on a Small Scale”. He is now conducting surface science research at Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC). This Oral History interview discusses the career paths of Drs. Yamashita and Mate, and brushes on some of their scientific breakthroughs and key technological innovations.
* Note: Transcripts represent what was said in the interview. However, to enhance meaning or add clarification, interviewees have the opportunity to modify this text afterward. This may result in discrepancies between the transcript and the video. Please refer to the transcript for further information - computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102792706
Visit computerhistory.org/collections/oralhistories for more information about the Computer History Museum's Oral History Collection.
Catalog Number: 102792707
Lot Number: 2022.0085
Interviewed by Bruno Marchon on 2022-06-15 in Mountain View, CA
© Computer History Museum
Drs. Yamashita and Mate have been key innovators in the field of hard disk drive tribology. Tribology is the science of sliding bodies, which usually involves friction, wear and lubrication. The reason why it is critical to disk drive technology is because the magnetic head flies very close to the spinning disk surface under very high velocities of close to 100 miles per hour. In the disk drive industry, tribology refers not only to the reliability of the device, but also the push to lower and precisely control the head to medium spacing (HMS). During their careers, Drs. Mate and Yamashita have helped reduce HMS from a few micrometers to just a few nanometers while at the same time greatly improving the reliability of hard disk drives. This has enabled over a million-fold increase in storage densities and helped sustain the exponential growth of the internet. Dr. Yamashita began his career in the disk drive business by joining Komag at its inception in 1984 and worked there until 2007, when the company was acquired by Western Digital. He has developed many of the processes used in the manufacture of thin-film media at Komag, with 34 patents to his credit and many publications. Dr. Mathew Mate worked for 30 years in industry doing research and development of materials for nanotechnology and nanotribology applications. He started his industrial career at the IBM Almaden Research. Later, he worked in the disk drive divisions of Hitachi and Western Digital. Mathew Mate is best known for his research into the molecular and atomic level origins of tribology, and he authored a book: “Tribology on a Small Scale”. He is now conducting surface science research at Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC). This Oral History interview discusses the career paths of Drs. Yamashita and Mate, and brushes on some of their scientific breakthroughs and key technological innovations.
* Note: Transcripts represent what was said in the interview. However, to enhance meaning or add clarification, interviewees have the opportunity to modify this text afterward. This may result in discrepancies between the transcript and the video. Please refer to the transcript for further information - computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102792706
Visit computerhistory.org/collections/oralhistories for more information about the Computer History Museum's Oral History Collection.
Catalog Number: 102792707
Lot Number: 2022.0085
