Browsing by Subject "Engineering Research Associates"

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Oral history interview with Arnold A. Cohen
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1983) Cohen, Arnold A.
Cohen provides information about relations of Engineering Research Associates with the Navy, and with Remington Rand management after their acquisition of ERA. He also describes ERA projects in detail. Specific topics include: early research on magnetic drum storage systems, reports to the National Bureau of Standards, the Atlas I project and the commercial by-product (the 1101), the Atlas II project and the commercial by-product (the 1103), the 1102 built for Arnold Engineering Development Center, the 1104 built for Westinghouse/BOMARC, the Remington Rand Tape-to-Card Converter, the File Computer, ERA non-computer projects, ERA's design contract with IBM and its relation to the IBM 650, UNIVAC II, and patents and their defensive use in litigation.
Oral history interview with Arnold A. Cohen
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1987-07-02) Cohen, Arnold A.
The interview focuses on Engineering Research Associates (ERA). Cohen begins the interview by briefly describing most of the early ERA personnel. He discusses his own work and that of C. B. Tompkins on various ERA projects including the Goldberg Project and the design of memory systems.
Oral history interview with Arnold Dumey
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1984-10-09) Dumey, Arnold
The Dumey interview begins with a description of his work for the Army Signal Corps during World War II. He discusses the development of a system for comparing data for which Eastman Kodak supplied a contrast reversal film process and Reed Research a reading device. He also considers some of the problems inherent in working for a secret organization. In the post-war period, he focuses on the contractual work done by Engineering Research Associates for the Navy, emphasizing their engineering excellence and the leverage that their competitive position gave him in his negotiations for the Navy with IBM. He highlights the roles of John L. Hill and William Norris in ERA, and contrasts the ERA 1101 with the Standards Electronic Automatic Computer (SEAC). He concludes with a discussion of the obsolescence of electrostatic tube and delay-line memory devices with the introduction of magnetic cores.
Oral history interview with Arnold J. Ryden
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1995-04-05) Ryden, Arnold J.
After briefly discussing his educational background, Ryden explains his role as treasurer for Engineering Research Associates (ERA), the formation of Midwest Technical Development Corporation to supply venture capital to start up high tech companies, and his later role in the formation of Control Data Corporation. He relates the circumstances surrounding his purchase of Telex and the spinoff of the data products division as DataProducts Corporation. Ryden discusses his involvement in arranging financing for start up companies and concludes the interview with an explanation of his research on entrepreneurship.
Oral history interview with Arthur L. Norberg
(Charles Babbage Institute, 2006) Norberg, Arthur L. (Arthur Lawrence), 1938-
This oral history briefly addresses Norberg’s education and early career at the University of California-Berkeley’s Bancroft Library and the National Science Foundation before shifting to provide detailed information on the origins and first two and a half decades of the Charles Babbage Institute (CBI) and Charles Babbage Foundation (CBF). Norberg was the founding director and longtime leader of the Charles Babbage Institute and discusses his early priorities with CBI, and its development as the premier international historical research center and archives repository focused on the history of computing. This includes discussion of personnel, projects, strategies, publications, relationships to other institutions (University of Minnesota, American Federation of Information Processing Societies, CBF, etc.), and other topics.
Oral history interview with Dean Babcock
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1986-09-12) Babcock, Dean Frank
After Babcock describes his early life, education and communications work in the Navy during World War II, the focus of the interview shifts to his work with Engineering Research Associates (ERA). Topics include: various ERA projects including Project Lime; the design of equipment at ERA; magnetic drum designs and capabilities; the work of Sidney Rubens and William Field on magnetic drums; and ERA's interaction with the Navy, especially during the Korean War.
Oral history interview with Edward C. Svendsen
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1986-09-16) Svendsen, Edward C.
Svendsen begins with a description of his early life and education and a discussion of his work in the Navy during World War II. The bulk of the interview concerns the relationship between Engineering Research Associates and the Navy. Topics include: John Parker and the management of ERA; the work of Howard Engstrom, William Norris, Ralph Meader, John Howard, and Sid Rubens at ERA; and ERA's projects for the Navy.
Oral history interview with Erwin Tomash
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1973) Tomash, Erwin
Tomash discusses his work with Engineering Research Associates (ERA). Topics include: the firm's management, the roles of William Norris, Frank Mullaney, and Arnold Cohen in ERA, Tomash's development of West Coast marketing for ERA after it became a part of Remington Rand, competition with International Business Machines, the development of Williams tube storage devices and core memories, and the ERA 1103 computer. He also recounts his move from Remington Rand to Telemeter Magnetics, later Ampex Computer Products, the formation of Dataproducts Corporation and its subsidiary, Informatics Inc., headed by Walter Bauer.
Oral history interview with Erwin Tomash
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1983-05-15) Tomash, Erwin
Tomash discusses his career, including employment at Engineering Research Associates (ERA) and the founding of Dataproducts Corporation. He begins with his electrical engineering education at the University of Minnesota in the early 1940s and his subsequent entry into the Army Signal Corps as a radar specialist. He recounts his initial task at ERA, conducting research for High-Speed Computing Devices. He surveys ERA's work with the predecessors of the National Security Agency and other government offices, and the company's expansion and move to the forefront of computer technology in the early 1950s. He describes changes in the company and his own move into management when the company was sold to Remington Rand in 1953. Tomash recalls his departure in l956 from Remington Rand to Telemeter Magnetics, where he soon became president. This company manufactured core memory systems and one of the first successful transistor memory systems. Tomash explains how he used the organization he and others had assembled from Telemeter Magnetics to found Dataproducts Corporation in 1962.
Oral history interview with Frank C. Mullaney
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1986-06) Mullaney, Frank C.
Mullaney begins by describing his early life, electrical engineering education, radar work in World War II with General Electric, and sonar work with the Navy. He discusses the various projects to which he was assigned at Engineering Research Associates (ERA), especially the Atlas (ERA 1101) computer. Other topics include the ERA 1102 and ERA 1103 computers, John L. Hill, the acquisition of ERA by Remington Rand, J. Presper Eckert, and the formation of Control Data Corporation.
Oral history interview with H. Dick Clover
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1986-06-05) Clover, H. Dick
After briefly discussing his early life and education, Clover focuses on his work with Engineering Research Associates (ERA). Topics include: the work of C. B. Tompkins; Clover's association with Communication Supplementary Activities-Washington (CSAW); the relationship between CSAW and ERA; the formation of ERA; the roles of Howard Engstrom, Ralph Meader, John Parker, and John Howard in ERA; research on magnetic drums and disks; the relationship between Northwestern Aeronautical Corporation and ERA; and Clover's administrative work with the Navy contracts at ERA. Clover concludes the interview with a brief description of ERA under Remington Rand and Sperry Rand.
Oral history interview with Henry S. Forrest
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1982-12-06) Forrest, Henry S.
Forrest outlines the history of Engineering Research Associates and Remington Rand's Univac Division. He discusses the formation of Control Data Corporation and his work establishing contacts with the U.S. government.
Oral history interview with Hugh Duncan
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1986-08-14) Duncan, Hugh
Duncan describes his engineering education and entrance into the Navy in World War II. He discusses his work at Communications Supplementary Activities-Washington and the events leading to the formation of Engineering Research Associates (ERA). Topics include: the introduction of John E. Parker to Howard Engstrom, Ralph Meader, and Norris by the financial brokerage firm of Auchincloss, Redpath, and Parker, the work of John Howard, the level of Navy involvement with ERA, research activities, especially regarding memory devices, and the management of the firm. Duncan reviews the management of the ERA and Eckert-Mauchly acquisitions by Remington Rand. He concludes with a comparison of the management techniques of Remington Rand and International Business Machines.
Oral history interview with James E. Thornton
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1984-02-09) Thornton, J. E. (James E.)
After Thornton briefly describes his education, the interview focuses on the design and construction work at Engineering Research Associates on Task 29 which became the ERA 1103 computer.
Oral history interview with James Henry Wakelin, Jr.
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1986-02-27) Wakelin, James Henry
The interview covers Wakelin's career, including his education, work at the Navy Department and Engineering Research Associates (ERA), and later consulting work. The first part of the interview reviews his education at Dartmouth, Cambridge, and Yale, and his first job at B.F. Goodrich. He discusses his work in the Navy department during World War II, where he was involved with their first use of modern computers. Through this Wakelin came in contact with William Norris and others who founded ERA. Wakelin discusses his own plans to establish a consulting company after the war and his decision to join ERA. He discusses his work in ERA's Washington D.C. office from 1945 to 1948, where he was primarily involved with securing Navy contracts. Other aspects about ERA in the late 1940s are discussed, including his relationships with John Parker, C. B. Tompkins, and others. He concludes with a review of his later work with a textile institute affiliated with Princeton.
Oral history interview with James T. Pendergrass
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1985-03-28) Pendergrass, James T.
Pendergrass discusses his work in the Navy and the early use of computers there. He discusses his decoding and production work during the second world war, particularly on the Enigma project in which he used IBM, Kodak, and NCR equipment. After the war Pendergrass remained in the Navy and worked with Rear Admiral Leonard Winger and others in the Naval Security Group. Pendergrass reviews his computer training in 1946 at the University of Pennsylvania Moore School for Electrical Engineering and his subsequent work for the Navy with Engineering Research Associates, the Institute for Advanced Study, and IBM. He concludes with a discussion of his Navy work on the Atlas project and advances in computer technology in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Oral history interview with Jane Hauser Pejsa
(Charles Babbage Institute, 2016-01-28) Pejsa, Jane Hauser
Jane Hauser Pejsa grew up in Minneapolis and graduated from Carleton College in 1951 with a degree in mathematics, then took an engineering position with Northwestern Bell Telephone in downtown Minneapolis. Her supportive math professor, Kenneth O. May, helped her land a position with Remington Rand Univac at the original Engineering Research Associates factory in St. Paul. At Univac she worked with Earl Joseph, then later worked in General Mills’ government computing division with Francis Alterman, founder of the short-lived Advanced Scientific Instruments. After briefly working for a book publisher, she took a position as a FORTRAN specialist with Honeywell Systems and Research developing computing and guidance systems for the Space Shuttle. She offers numerous character sketches and anecdotes, which she has written down in an essay entitled Memoir of a Fortran Queen (2016). This material is based on work funded by the
Oral history interview with John E. Parker
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1986) Parker, John E., 1900-1989
Parker discusses his career: his years in the Navy, acquisition of Porterfield Aviation Company, start-up of Northwestern Aeronautical Corporation, and especially the formation of Engineering Research Associates (ERA). Parker explains how his business brought him to St. Paul and into contact with the Navy, and how the Navy approached him to direct a new research company, ERA, to continue war-time work done for the Navy. Parker recalls his meetings with key ERA personnel, including William Norris, Ralph Meader, and Howard Engstrom. ERA's entry into computing is discussed, including contracts in 1948 with the Navy, Air Force, and National Bureau of Standards and negotiations in 1949 with IBM over a magnetic drum design. Parker recalls ERA's sale to Remington Rand in 1950 and mentions the 1950 publication of High-Speed Computing Devices. Parker's period as Vice President for Sales at Remington Rand and Sperry is the focus of the last third of the interview. From 1952 to 1956 he and his staff sought to expand the number of computers sold and to integrate sales of all types of automatic machines. In the second part of the interview Parker continues his discussion of ERA's relationships with other computer manufacturers including ERA's magnetic drum design agreement with IBM in 1950. Parker also discusses the acquisition and assimilation of ERA by Remington Rand, ERA's relationship with the Eckert-Mauchly Division of Remington Rand, and his own disaffection with Sperry Corporation's deemphasis on commercial computer sales after they acquired Remington Rand in 1955. Much of the interview concerns Parker's activities as head of the Electronic Computer Sales Department of Remington Rand.
Oral history interview with John Lindsay Hill
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1986-01) Hill, John L. (John Lindsay), 1909-
The interview primarily concerns Hill's years at Engineering Research Associates, but his formative years and employment at 3M Corporation are also included. The first part of the interview concerns his family history, upbringing, and education, primarily in electronics, at Rochester Institute of Technology. After his graduation in 1930 Hill worked for General Railroad and from 1934 to 1946 for 3M. In the l930s he became interested in radio technology, a skill used during World War II by the Air Force. The majority of the interview concerns his years at ERA beginning in 1946. Many aspects of his work at ERA are discussed: tape-splicing activities, the Goldberg project, development of magnetic recording, the Demon project, the Atlas project, and interactions with Navy personnel. Particular attention is given to interactions among ERA staff in a government classified environment. In the second session Hill further describes his years at ERA and Ramsey Engineering. He offers additional technical detail about the Demon and Atlas projects at ERA in an attempt to articulate ERA's design philosophy, and describes the work routine during these projects. He next turns to several commercial projects, notably the Speed Tally project for John Plain Company (Chicago) and the American Airlines project conducted jointly by ERA and Automatic Electric. Hill discusses the acquisition of ERA by Remington Rand, how his own role changed after the acquisition, and notes specific problems with sales operations and the increase in bureaucracy. Conflicts with J. Presper Eckert are also mentioned. The last part of the interview concerns his employment at Ramsey Engineering from 1956 to 1976.
Oral history interview with Marvin L. Stein
(Charles Babbage Institute, 1984) Stein, Marvin L.
In the first session of the interview, Stein discusses his early career and the formation of the University of Minnesota's computing facilities. After learning basic digital and analog operation during World War II, he obtained a doctorate in mathematics from UCLA. While teaching numerical analysis at UCLA, he also worked on missile simulation at Convair, Inc., in San Diego. After becoming familiar with the ERA 1103 computer Convair purchased from Engineering Research Associates, Stein made frequent consultant visits to ERA headquarters in Minnesota. In 1955, the University of Minnesota hired Stein to introduce their first computer courses and administer ERA's gift of free computer time. He describes early computer applications to crystallography and low-energy electron scattering, and the policy he established for the computer center to make users self-sufficient programmers. Stein reviews the growth of the Computer Center: the acquisition of an ERA 1103 computer with National Science Foundation support, the construction and use of a hybrid computer out of the 1103 and a Reeves Electronic Analog Computer (REAC), and the purchase in 1960 of Control Data 1604 and 1700 computers. In the second session, Stein discusses the formation of Minnesota's program in computer science. He explains the rationale for his 1966 proposal for a graduate program in computer science and for the move in 1969 to a department of computer science independent from mathematics and electrical engineering. Stein reviews the curriculum that was intended to introduce students to a wide variety of applications so that they could introduce computer science into other disciplines. Stein discusses the difficulties in hiring enough qualified faculty members, the relations between the computer center and the computer science department, and the state's attempt to bring all educational computing under the control of the Minnesota Educational Computer Consortium.

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