Browsing by Subject "Institute for Advanced Study computer"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Oral history interview with Alice R. Burks and Arthur W. Burks
    (Charles Babbage Institute, 1980-06-20) Burks, Arthur W. (Arthur Walter), 1915-; Burks, Alice R., 1920-
    Arthur Burks describes his work on the ENIAC and Institute for Advanced Study computers. He reviews his upbringing, education, and work experiences (mainly teaching) before joining the University of Pennsylvania Moore School of Electrical Engineering in 1941. He then discusses his associations with J. Presper Eckert, John Mauchly, John Brainerd, Herman Goldstine, and others and their work at the Moore School. Various aspects of the ENIAC project are discussed in detail: interactions of project members, division of tasks, decision making processes, patenting issues, initial operation, and von Neumann's association with the Moore School and the ENIAC and EDVAC projects. There is a general discussion concerning the classification of general versus special purpose computers and computers versus calculators. Patenting issues concerning the ENIAC project are given particular attention. The Burks discuss the dispersion of ENIAC and EDVAC personnel at the end of World War II. Burks recounts his move to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, his experiences there, and his consulting work with Burroughs prior to accepting a faculty position at the University of Michigan.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Oral history interview with Arthur W. Burks
    (Charles Babbage Institute, 1987-06-23) Burks, Arthur W. (Arthur Walter), 1915-
    Burks describes John von Neumann's contribution to the development of computers. In this context Burks discusses the ENIAC, the work of the Moore School of Electrical Engineering, and the development of a computer at the Institute for Advanced Study.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Oral history interview with James Pomerene
    (Charles Babbage Institute, 1980-09-26) Pomerene, James
    Pomerene describes his experiences working for the Institute for Advanced Study Computer Project as the first engineer to work on the electronic components in 1946 and as the project's chief engineer from 1951. He reviews the personal interactions and technical decisions that surrounded the project's development. He discusses the roles of John von Neumann and Herman Goldstine, the personalities of some of the project staff, and the aborted attempt to employ the RCA Selectron electrostatic memory tube.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Oral history interview with Martin Schwarzschild
    (Charles Babbage Institute, 1986-11-18) Schwarzschild, Martin
    Schwarzschild describes his early training in automatic computing when he assumed the position of director of the Watson Scientific Computation Laboratory at Columbia University upon the resignation of Wallace Eckert. Schwarzschild describes the computational research he did there on stellar models using advanced IBM tabulating equipment. He next turns to his experience during world war II at Aberdeen Proving Grounds as an enlisted member of the army working on bomb blasts, and mentions work of R. H. Kent, L. Dederick, IBM personnel, John von Neumann, and other scientific consultants on the design of new automatic calculating equipment for the laboratories. Schwarzschild answers questions about the relationship between Kent and von Neumann. His final topic is the work during the 1950s he undertook on stellar interiors using the Institute for Advanced Study computer. He describes his experiences trying to use the computer for large scientific purposes, and recalls the reception of his computational research by the professional astronomy journals.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Oral history interview with Uta C. Merzbach
    (Charles Babbage Institute, 1980-09-15) Merzbach, Uta C., 1933-
    Merzbach provides a brief overview of the history of electronic computing. She begins with the early projects in the 1940s that grew out of the need for advanced military technology, such as the ENIAC, the EDVAC, the Institute for Advanced Study computer, and the Whirlwind computer. She touches on the transition from military to commercial computers, with the UNIVAC of Eckert and Mauchly and International Business Machine's 650 and 700 series. She discusses early memory systems (mercury delay line, Williams electrostatic storage tube, Selectron tube, and magnetic drum) and how they were all superseded by the magnetic core in the 1950s. Merzbach also cites the development of FORTRAN, the first high-level programming language.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Oral history interview with Willis H. Ware
    (Charles Babbage Institute, 1981-01-19) Ware, Willis H.
    The interview is primarily devoted to Ware's work on the Institute for Advanced Study computer project in the late 1940s. Ware details the contributions of Jules Charney, John von Neumann, Herman Goldstine, and others. He discusses the division of tasks, interaction among project members, design considerations, the pace of work, and patent issues. Ware distinguishes between scientific and commercial computers, and compares the Institute computer to others produced at the time. Associations of the Institute with IBM, RCA, and other companies and with Princeton University is also discussed. Ware also relates his move to the RAND Corporation and RAND's activities in computing.