Heinz Joseph Gerber (April 17, 1924 – August 8, 1996) was an American inventor and businessman. An Austrian-born Jewish Holocaust survivor who immigrated in 1940, he pioneered computer-automated manufacturing systems for an array of industries. Described as the "Thomas Edison of manufacturing," he was one of the first to recognize and develop the productivity-enhancing potential for computer automation in skill-intensive industrial sectors. His work in this field grew from his early developments of graphical-numerical computing devices, data-reduction tools, and plotters.