Andrew (Andrzej) Stanislaw Targowski (born October 9, 1937) is a Polish–American computer scientist specializing in enterprise computing, societal computing, information technology impact upon civilization, information theory, wisdom theory, and civilization theory. One of the pioneers of applied information systems in Poland, he is an executive, university professor, scientist, civilizationist, philosopher, visionary, writer, and generalist.Who is Who in Poland (Kto Jest Kim w Polsce). Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Interpress, 1984, pp. 989–990.Pula, J. (2011). The Polish American Encyclopedia. Jefferson, NC & London: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, p. 516.Piasek, Zb. (2006). Encyclopedia of World Research and Engineering Heritage of Polish Engineers in the USA, Canada, Europe, Argentina and Singapore.Kraków, Poland: FOGRA, p. 302–308.
In Poland he is known for developing a computerized the social security number (PESEL, 1972–74) for 38 million citizens,Rutkowski, P. (2010). "ENFANCE with Professor Andrzej Targowski." Computerworld (Polish Edition), September 28, p. 10. a prototype of INFOSTRADA (1972–1974), and authoring of the first books on applied information technology in business, economy, and society. In the United States he has developed one of the first digital cities in the U.S., teleCITY of Kalamazoo, Michigan (1992–1996).Mish, P. (1996). "WMU Professor originated the idea of "electronic global village" in Kalamazoo." Kalamazoo Gazette, August 25.Mish, P. (1996). "Telecity lunches Kalamazoo site on the Internet." Kalamazoo Gazette, November 9.Chmielewski, T. (1993). Cyberspace: The New Frontier. Kalamazoo Gazette, October 3, p. 1 and 7. He concentrated on the cognitive informatics-oriented development of the theories of enterprise-wide system, information, communication, civilization, and wisdom.
Biography
Targowski was born in Warsaw, Poland. His father, Stanislaw, Adam (1893–1945) was a lawyer, diplomat, politician, and writer. Targowski's father was arrested by the Germans in 1940 and sent to Auschwitz, later to Gross-Rosen and Nordhausen Mittelbau-Dora, where he was a slave worker for the production of V1 and V2 weapons.Michel, J. (1975). DORA, The Nazi Concentration Camp Where Modern Space Technology was Born and 30,00 Prisoners Died. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.Neufeld, M.J. (2007).Von Braun. Dreamer of Space/Engineer of War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. On March 21, 1945, he was publicly executed by hanging for sabotaging that production.Mołdawa, M. (1980, 2009). Gross Rosen. Warszawa: Bellona, p. 197. Targowski's mother Halina Krzyrzanska-Targowska (1907–1975) was born on her parents' large estate in Eastern Poland-Podole, now in Ukraine. She was a teenager when the Russian Revolution 1917 devastated her family, which resulted in her escaping to Warsaw. During the Warsaw (Polish) Uprising (September 1944) she was wounded 14 times. She was able to take out her son Andrew (then 7 years old) from a pile of corpses, after the execution.Mazurczyk, J. & Zawanowska, K. (1981). Childhood and War. (Dzieciństwo i Wojna). Warsaw: Czytelnik., p. 52–58.Ena, M. (1999). Where love ripped to heroism. (Gdzie miłość dojrzewala do bohaterstwa). Niepokalanów, Poland: Wydawnictwo OO. Franciszkanòw. pp. 111–113. After the War, Targowski went to the private (later nationalized) W.Gòrski School in Warsaw. When Joseph Stalin died on March 23, 1953, he and other boys shot air guns at pictures of the state officials, hanging in a classroom, celebrating the too soon conceived victory over the occupiers. Consequently, he was expelled from the school and completed his baccalaureate at the T. Reytan School in Warsaw in 1954.Targowski, A. (2001). Informatics without illusions. (Informatyka bez złudzeń). Toruń, Poland: Adam Marszałek. He married Alicja Kowalczyk in 1962 and has a son Stan (Stanislaw – computer scientist). After his divorce, he remarried Irmina Dura-Kubas (MD and Ph.D.) in 1978 and has a son John (attorney) and a step-daughter Agnieszka (geophysicist), and three grandchildren; Julian (computer professional), Marcel and Veronica.Who's Who in American Education.(1991–1993). Third Edition. Wilmette, Il.: The National Reference Institutes, p. 859.Who's Who in the World.10th Edition Wilmette, Il." Marquis, Macmillan Directory, p.1074.Almy, K. (2010). A Philosophy Emerges from a Difficult Life. ENCORE, April, p. 16–24.
Education
Targowski graduated from the Warsaw Politechnic (1961) from the Faculty of Industrial Engineering. Defended in a public presentation a master's degree thesis on "The Computerized Integrated Information Systems in the RAWAR T1 Factory," which was making military and civilian (commercial navy) radars. In 1962 he formulated (behind the Iron Curtain) the model of a list of parts and components (Bill of Material Processor – BOMP) for highly complex products, characterized by 19 levels of assemblies and thousands of components. Nowadays, this kind of systems is called ERP. It was the first master thesis on Management Information Systems defended in Poland. During his study at the Warsaw Politechnic he actively participated in the famous Students Unrest in October 1956. This students' protest ended the Stalinist Era in Poland, but the "liberal" totalitarian dictatorship was still intact. As a penalty, he lost scholarship, and had to take a part-time job as a draftsman at an engineering bureau, designing brick factories. In 1969, Targowski defended his PhD dissertation on "The Conditions of the Optimization of Hierarchical Management Information Systems" at the Warsaw Politechnic. He proved in his dissertation that the optimal configuration of a hierarchical computer infrastructure had to be composed of mainframe and minicomputers. It defied the official state strategy, which preferred the development of mainframes only, since that kind of a strategy was pursued by the Soviet Union. He later supported Jacek Karpiński, a famous Polish designer of minicomputers (KARP and K-202). During his professional life he passed an intensive computer training at IBM schools in Belgium, Austria, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. He also passed an intensive computer training at the French company BULL in Paris in 1962–1964 and later in 1966 in United Kingdom, at ICT/ICL and NCR.Capsis, G. (1972). Targowski: Poland's Computer Prime Minister. DATAMATION, March, International Ed., p. 128-F.
Work in Poland
As a student, he was a co-author of the first National Program for the Development of Information Technology in Poland (Economic Council of the Council of Ministers – KERM 400, 1961). In 1962 he founded the first Polish Systems Analysis Laboratory at the Institute of Machine Industry Organization (ORGMASZ). In this workshop, according to KERM Resolution 400, he participated as an executive in the design of the first Polish computer business management information systems at RAWAR (radars factory) – 1961, the Radio Plant Marcin Kasprzak in Warsaw – 1962, the Lamp Plant R. Luxemburg in Warsaw −1962, Truck plant in Starachowice – 1966 (ICT 1301). In 1966, he was able to bring to Poland the IBM 1440 machine, which was the first such contract with IBM then behind the Iron Curtain.EASTERN EUROPE: Computermania (1967). Newsweek (International Ed), March 27. Between 1965 and 1971 as the first employee and CEO of Warsaw's ZETO-Zowar participated in the establishment of networks between Poland's 50 ZETO regional centers :pl:ZETO. ZETO computer centers employed about 5000 computer professionals. In ZETO-Zowar he initiated and oversaw the design of the first in Poland (1966) Production Calculation Software Package – now called ERP (BOMP, MRP I and MRP II) – advanced industrial processing systems, supporting integrated production management in the automotive plant FSO and Nowotko diesel engine plant in Warsaw, first on IBM 1440, and later on IBM System/360 mainframes.
As a volunteer he took part in the planning of the second National Informatics Development Plan for the years 1971–1975. He took over the design of the system nationwide directory of personal social security number: PESEL/Magister/PESEL (1972–1974). He developed the WEKTOR system for accounting and control of public investments (1972–1974).Targowski, A. (1972). The Key to Prosperity.POLAND, Illustrated Magazine, no.6 (214), p. 10. As the deputy director general of the National Office of Information Technology (1971–1974), he developed the concept of INFOSTRADA (Information Superhighway), that concept returned in U.S. 20 years later reinvented by staff of senator Al Gore)Heilemann, J. (1995). President 2000. WIRED, December 1995, p. 218 "Information superhighway-we might have stolen it from somewhere." and the National Information System (KSI). INFOSTRADA and KSI development plans were hindered by the political authorities as too risky for the dictatorship of the communist system, because they promoted the free flow of information in society. From that moment the trouble started for Targowski's employment and publishing, and organized harassment of his person began: in 1977, he was removed from the editorial board of Informatyka :pl:Informatyka (czasopismo),(a computer journal first called Maszyny Matematyczne (Mathematical Machines) which he co-founded in 1966), his publications were blocked. Then he was fired from consecutive jobs. Employed at the Institute of Building Machines in Kobyłka, he was asked to be absent at work. As a result of harassment he began efforts to go abroad. He was Poland's delegate to the Working Group on Automation at the United Nations (Geneva), (1972–74)
Work in the United States
In January 1980 Targowski (through a Polish foreign trade agency Polservice, specializing in exporting Polish professionals) went to Mexico, and then in 1980 to the United States where he got political asylum. In the U.S., he worked in the Hamilton College (1974–1975), Western Michigan University (1980–1982) Hofstra University (1982–1983), Eastern Kentucky University (1984), and the longest, from 1985 until today, as a professor of computer information systems in Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan. In the 1990s he was first a chairman of the board overseeing the development of a teleCITY of Kalamazoo , in 1996 he was a director of that project, which he managed as a research project, simultaneously working as a faculty at Western Michigan University. In the United States, his experience on information highways (INFOSTRADA) from Poland, led to the launch of one of America's first digital city projects—Telecity of Kalamazoo (1996).
In the U.S. he specializes in areas such as strategy and architecture of integrated enterprise systems, semantic ladder, futurology, modeling of civilization theory, multiculturalism, the theory of wisdom and theory of information. In total Targowski independently published 40 books (in English, Polish, and Italian), and additionally with co-authors 10 chapters of other books in English. He also developed about 180 scientific and professional articles in Polish and English.
Volunteer work in professional associations in the United States
IRMA, Information Resources Management Association – president of advisory council (1995–2003). ISCSC, The International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations – president (2007–2013). Foreign Member of Academy of Engineering in Poland (Akademia Inżynierska w Polsce, 200 elected members out of 120,000 engineers)[www.akademiainzynierska.pl]. World Research Council of Polonia (Światowa Rada Badań nad Polonią) – president (2001–2007) Colleagues International – president (1999–2001). Northern American Polish Engineer Council (Rada Inżynierów Polskich w Ameryce Północnej) – founder (2003), director (2003–2011), vicepresident (od 2011). Polonia Technica, New York – honorary member . Polish Tennis Association (Polski Związek Tenisowy) – president (1971–1972).