Steve Wozniak is joining Fusion-io as its Chief Scientist. Wozniak will act as a key technical advisor to the Fusion-io research and development group.

He will also work closely with the executive team of Fusion-io in formulating a company strategy that will accelerate the expansion of major global accounts. Wozniak, who co-founded Apple Inc., was the engineering force behind the launch of the home computer revolution.

Fusion-io provides enterprise solid-state technology and high-performance I/O solutions. The company’s solid state storage technology closes the gap between processing power and storage needs.

The company’s ioDrive is the first direct-attached, solid-state storage technology on a PCI-Express (PCIe), with I/O performance that surpasses that of mechanical disks by hundreds of times. Building on this innovation, the company has recently announced two additional products: the ioSAN, which is the first networked enterprise SSD, and the ioXtreme, a consumer product based on the company’s ioMemory technology.

“With the revolutionary technological advances being made by Fusion-io, the company is in the right place at the right time with the right technology and ready to direct the history of technology into the 21st century and beyond,” said Wozniak. “The technology marketplace has not seen such capacity for innovation and radical transformation since the mainframe computer was replaced by the home computer. Fusion-io’s technology is extremely useful to many different applications and almost all of the world’s servers.”

Prior to his appointment as chief scientist at Fusion-io, Wozniak was a member of the company’s advisory board, where he counseled the company on market trends, product road maps and other strategic activities. Wozniak will continue to advise the Fusion-io team on these vital issues.

“Steve Wozniak has been among the most elite innovators of his age and we are honored by his enthusiasm for our technology and our company,” said Don Basile, CEO of Fusion-io. “Steve’s inventions and insights have inspired generations of IT professionals and we look forward to the influence he will have on the future direction of Fusion-io as we continue to transform the enterprise.”