Oral history interview with David C. Walden

Abstract

Following a brief overview of his background, Walden traces his involvement with the ARPANET, from discussions before the official DARPA request was issued to his later management of the project at Bolt Beranek and Newman (BBN). He discusses the people involved in the ARPANET work at BBN and how they were influenced by their previous work developing real-time computer systems at Lincoln Laboratory. Walden describes the working environment of the group at BBN and their relationships with the IPT Office, other DARPA contractors, and the larger community. This interview was recorded as part of a research project on the influence of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on the development of computer science in the United States.