Shugart

Shugart is a surname of English origin that is notable in the history of computer storage technology. In the tech industry, the name is chiefly associated with Shugart Associates, a prominent designer and manufacturer of floppy disk drives in the 1970s and 1980s. The company produced early 5.25-inch disk drives that helped establish the standard for personal computer storage, followed by later 3.5-inch drives that became common in the 1980s.

Alan D. Shugart (1930–2007) was an American technology entrepreneur who co-founded Shugart Associates. He later played a key role in founding Seagate Technology, a major hard disk drive manufacturer, contributing significantly to the growth and development of data storage technology.

Shugart Associates' products and engineers contributed to the rapid expansion of storage capabilities in early personal computers. The company was part of the consolidation and evolution of data storage in the industry, and its legacy remains tied to the development and popularization of floppy disk drives. Today, the Shugart name is primarily remembered in historical discussions of storage technology and the early era of personal computing.