True innovation is built on curiosity and persistence—a perspective close to my heart as an academic scholar and tenured professor—and Morris Tanenbaum’s story is a perfect testament to this. Dr. Tanenbaum was born in 1928 in West Virginia. His parents were Jewish immigrants, and they ran a delicatessen with the family’s apartment above it. His fascination with science began during a visit to the World’s Fair, where he encountered exhibits that sparked a lifelong passion for discovery.
Dr. Tanenbaum was not only a chemist—he was a visionary whose work with silicon would forever alter the landscape of technology and communication. In the 1950s, when Tanenbaum worked at Bell Labs, he was not just tinkering in a lab; he was rewriting the future. Working with silicon, a material previously thought less promising than germanium, he pushed boundaries that eventually transformed global communications and computing.
I often reflect on how this pursuit of “possibility over practicality” is what propels innovation forward, where the goal is not only to solve today’s problems but to shape the future. Dr. Tanenbaum’s silicon breakthrough was not merely a technical achievement—it was a paradigm shift that laid the groundwork for the microchip revolution.
His relentless dedication to science helped AT&T pioneer industry-changing technology and navigate monumental technical challenges as well as business challenges, such as the 1982 breakup that marked the end of the Bell System. Even as technology rapidly evolved, Tanenbaum remained committed to creating a resilient future for telecommunications, advocating for digital switching, optical fiber, and mobile tech advancements. He always mourned the breakup of AT&T and the Bell System—a great American treasure.
Interestingly, during my time as a doctoral student at the University of Texas at Austin, two professors, reanalyzed the data used by the US Justice Department to determine that Bell Labs was not a natural monology leading to the breakup and the ensuing seven Regional Bell Operating Bell Companies, the “Baby Bells.” Professors Charnes, Cooper, and Sueyoshi showed different results using different analytic techniques from the US Justice Department to make their decision. In their seminal 1988 Management Science article, they stated, “This kind of difference in results obtained by two different methods of analysis points up a need for drawing on persons from different disciplines who are capable of checking each other’s methodologies when important policy decisions may be influenced by results that depend on the methodologies that these disciplines customarily use.” (Charnes, Cooper, & Sueyoshi, 1988: pg. 1).1 This is very consistent with my teaching approach to encourage debate and to look at all sides of the coin when making decisions about innovation and competing technologies.
It is striking to me how Dr. Tanenbaum’s work has shaped the way we think about fostering innovation in strategic contexts. His willingness to embrace risk and curiosity exemplifies the importance of pushing beyond what is known. For him, it was never just about “solving today’s problem,” but about creating a legacy of innovation that could stand the test of time. His story continues to inspire—showing that innovation is more than the materials or tools we use; it is the drive to create solutions that reach beyond the limits of today, shaping possibilities for generations to come.
1 Charnes, A., Cooper, W.W., Sueyoshi, T. 1988. A Goal Programming/Constrained Regression Review of the Bell System Breakup. Management Science, 34 (1): 1-26.
Dearly Departed profiles are the musings of SC Innovates’ Director and SmartState Endowed Chair Laura B. Cardinal. Cardinal is an academic researcher and teaches Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation at the University of South Carolina (USC) Darla Moore School of Business Professional MBA program. Her series of courses includes the Strategic Innovation Certificate. Cardinal’s courses offer a unique fusion of innovation, business strategy, science, and technology.