Browsing by Subject "Remington Rand, Inc. -- Univac Division"

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    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.
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    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
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    Oral history interview with Lyn Gardner Esbenson
    (Charles Babbage Institute, 2015-12-07) Esbenson, Lyn Gardner
    Lyn Esbenson describes her career in computing which began in 1959, shortly after her graduation from Colorado College, when she went to work in Pennsylvania for PPG Industries programming a UNIVAC I. Two years later she returned to Colorado and helped develop a magazine fulfillment and addressing system for Esquire Magazine, subsequently reorganized as NeoData and eventually purchased by EDS. Programming and project management are key topics of her career. This material is based on work funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation award B2014-07 “Tripling Women’s Participation in Computing (1965-1985).”
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    Oral history interview with Robert L. Perkins
    (Charles Babbage Institute, 1985-08-21) Perkins, Robert L., 1920-
    Perkins discusses the history of Engineering Research Associates and Remington Rand's Univac Division, the founding of Control Data Corporation (CDC), and the early development of peripheral products at CDC.
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    Oral history interview with Robert L. Perkins
    (Charles Babbage Institute, 1983) Perkins, Robert L., 1920-
    Perkins discusses the history of Engineering Research Associates and Remington Rand's Univac Division, the founding of Control Data Corporation (CDC), and the early development of peripheral products at CDC.
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    UNIVAC conference
    (Charles Babbage Institute, 1990-05) Woltman, Richard D.; Woltman, Frances B.; Wilson, Louis D.; Tonik, Albert B.; Swearingen, John K.; Shuler, Cecil M.; Sberro, Joseph E.; Sammet, Jean E., 1928-; Matter, H. W.; Marquardt, Donald W.; Koons, Florence K.; Huff, Morgan W.; Holberton, Frances E.; Hammer, Carl, 1914-2004; Dixon, Donald B.; Delves, Eugene L.; Danehower, George; Chinitz, M. Paul; Carter, Lee S.; Bartik, Jean; Armstrong, Lancelot W.; Armstrong, Dorothy P.; Adams, Armand E.
    The introduction of the UNIVAC computer is among those subjects in the history of computing that has received wide attention. The issues and sequence of events leading to the development of the UNIVAC have been covered in such writings as Nancy Stern's "From ENIAC to UNIVAC" and Herman Lukoff's "From Dits to Bits," and was the subject of the 1981 AFIPS Pioneer Day. However, less attention has been devoted to the place of the UNIVAC from approximately 1952 to 1956, after its initial development. A two-day oral history conference was convened in May 1990 to examine the role and effect of the UNIVAC on computing and the computer industry in the mid-1950s. The meeting involved over twenty-five engineers, programmers, marketing representatives, and salesmen who were involved with the UNIVAC, as well as customers who had worked with the machine. Many of these persons were key to the development and use of the computer, although this was the first time that most had been part of the historical analysis of the UNIVAC. Of particular note was the attendance of individuals from General Electric and Arthur Andersen. Both firms were early purchasers of the UNIVAC and had an important influence on the sale of UNIVACs to other businesses. Also represented in the group was the U.S. Census, which purchased the first UNIVAC from Remington Rand. The conference was organized and supported by the Unisys Corporation in concert with the Charles Babbage Institute (CBI) and the Smithsonian Institution. Anne Frantilla, corporate archivist for Unisys, was responsible for developing the conference and bringing together the participants. The Smithsonian hosted and recorded the conference. CBI undertook the production of this transcript, and has added the audio tape(s)s to its oral history collection. Editing of this transcript has been minimal. The text was altered only when an exact transcript of the spoken word did not adequately convey the intended meaning. More substantive changes and editorial remarks are enclosed in square brackets ([ ]). Also note that "UNIVAC" (all caps) conveys the computer, and "Univac" generally means the Univac Division of Remington Rand, later Sperry Rand. The editing of this transcript is unlike other oral interviews conducted by the Charles Babbage Institute in that participants were not given a chance to review their comments. The number of participants simply made CBI's standard practice infeasible. However, John Swearingen and Frances and Richard Woltman graciously agreed to review the transcript, and most of their recommendations were incorporated in the final transcript. Bruce Bruemmer edited the transcript. Participants include: Armand E. Adams, Dorothy P. Armstrong, Lancelot W. Armstrong, Jean Bartik, Lee S. Carter, M. Paul Chinitz, George Danehower, Eugene L. Delves, Donald B. Dixon, Carl Hammer, Frances Elizabeth Holberton, Morgan W. Huff, Florence K. Koons, Donald W. Marquardt, H. W. Matter, Jean E. Sammet, Joseph E. Sberro, Cecil M. Shuler, John K. Swearingen, Albert Tonik, Louis D. Wilson, Frances B. Woltman, Richard D. Woltman. Moderators include: Paul Ceruzzi, Bernard A. Galler, Michael S. Mahoney, Arthur L. Norberg, Robert F. Rosin, and Henry S. Tropp.