Olivetti's first computer becomes a graphic novel

Ciaj Rocchi and Matteo Demonte have created a graphic novel titled 'La macchina zero' about Mario Tchou, the Italian-Chinese engineer who led the development of the Olivetti Elea 9003, Italy's first transistorized computer. Published by Solferino, the book traces Tchou's life from his birth in Rome in 1924, his engineering studies in Italy and the United States, to his return to Italy at the request of Adriano Olivetti. The Elea 9003 marked a fundamental technological shift. The story begins on November 9, 1961, the day of Tchou's death in a car accident at age 37. Rocchi describes Tchou as a symbolic figure: the first Italian-Chinese of upper-middle-class background, embodying an era open to the future. The graphic novel will be presented on November 9 at the ADI Design Museum in Milan.