The IBM Fellows program, which recognizes technology innovators within Big Blue’s ranks, now includes a Durham engineer who specializes in cloud technologies.

Jason McGee, who works in IBM’s Software Group, joins seven other IBMers named as IBM Fellows. The program marks its 50th anniversary today. The program was originally created to give fellows the resources to probe deeper into their work and break new ground in technology.

New to the IBM Fellows program this year is an effort to develop relationships in other geographic markets. The new fellows will each be responsible for adopting an IBM growth market and serving as “technology ambassadors.”

McGee has been a leader at IBM in cloud technologies, Java-based application server middleware and application aware virtualization. McGee will serve as technology ambassador to Egypt. As technology ambassador, the fellows will make sure that IBM is active and prominent in the selected countries. The fellows will help IBM partner with local universities and research institutions, mentor other IBMers and help nurture the relationship between IBM and the local market.

IBM Fellows have developed innovations that led to the first disk drive, the IBM personal computer and Watson, the IBM computer competed on the game show Jeopardy! and beat two quiz champions.

Only 246 IBMers have become IBM Fellows; 85 of them are still active IBM employees. This distinguished group has generated nearly 7,500 patents, received five Nobel prizes, garnered thousands of government and professional citations and published a trove of research in scientific journals.

The other IBM employees names as fellows are: Neil Bartlett, IBM Software Group, Toronto; Jon Casey, Systems and Technology Group, Hopewell Junction, N.Y.; Monty Denneau, IBM Research, Yorktown Heights, N.Y.; John Ponzo, IBM Research, Yorktown Heights, N.Y.; Heike Reil, IBM Research, Zurich, Switzerland; Dinesh Verma, IBM Research, Yorktown Heights, N.Y.; and Chandu Visweswariah, Systems and Technology Group, Hopewell Junction, N.Y.

Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM employs thousands in North Carolina, including its large campus in Research Triangle Park.