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<p>Forwarding on behalf of the organisers: <br>
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<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/about-us/events/200-years-of-becoming-digital/">https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/about-us/events/200-years-of-becoming-digital/</a><br>
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<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/about-us/news/celebrate-200-years-of-becoming-digital-at-royal-holloway/">https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/about-us/news/celebrate-200-years-of-becoming-digital-at-royal-holloway/</a><br>
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<p class="introText padRight">The Computer Science department at
Royal Holloway, University of London, will be celebrating its
50th anniversary this month by taking people on a journey
through 200 years of digital technology.</p>
<p>The department is staging a special exhibition called ‘200
years of becoming digital’ exploring the history of computing
technology and its effect on society, in particular the
contribution of women scientists and engineers.</p>
<p>The university will open its doors to host the exhibition on
the evolution of the digital world between 24 September and 29
November. The free display will explore technological change
over the past two centuries and its effect on society.</p>
<p>The exhibition has five themes including a ‘Wall of Women’
which celebrates the contribution of women such as Margaret
Rock, an alumna of Bedford College, which merged with Royal
Holloway in 1985.</p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Rock">Margaret</a>
was recruited in 1940 to work at Bletchley Park, the site of the
Government Code and Cypher School which was responsible for
decrypting enemy communications during World War II. She was
later awarded an MBE for her work within the group that broke
the German Military Intelligence Enigma code and was said to be
one of the best in the team.</p>
<p>The exhibition also includes a recreation of Charles Babbage’s
nineteenth century analytical engine, the forerunner of modern
computers; an explanation of the way in which miniaturisation
has driven increases in computer speed (a process that will soon
come to a halt) and the use of digital technologies in the
entertainment industries.</p>
<p>Adrian Johnstone, Professor of Computing at Royal Holloway
said: “This is an opportunity to not only celebrate our 50th
anniversary but show how the technology which now impacts on all
aspects of our lives originated.</p>
<p>“In the 50 years since our computing department opened we have
seen massive changes in the technologies available and how they
are used.</p>
<p> “We particularly want to celebrate the contribution of women
in science and engineering. It’s fascinating to see that
computing science originally attracted many women into the
discipline. Women are now under-represented in this sector and
we must reverse this trend. Highlighting the contribution women
have made in the past and the great opportunities which now
exist is an important part of this exhibition,” added Professor
Johnstone.</p>
<b>The exhibition takes place in the Exhibition Space of the Emily
Wilding Davison Building until Friday 30 November 2018. </b><b><br>
</b><b><br>
</b><b>Open every day 10.00-18.00 and 20.00 on Thursdays.
Admission free, no booking necessary</b><br>
<p>This exhibition traces the development of computing ideas and
technology since the 1820s through four themes:<br>
<br>
<i>The mechanical prehistory of computing </i><br>
<br>
How were tables of logarithms made in the 19th century? See a
steam driven calculator and a mechanical noughts and crosses
machine along with a modern 3D printer.<br>
<br>
<i>#ilooklikeanengineer</i><br>
<br>
Female participation in computing slumped in the 1960s as
programming became seen as a technical profession, and again in
the 1980s as the home computer revolution took hold. Can we
reverse the trend?<br>
<i><br>
</i><i>Moore’s Law from beginning to end</i><br>
<br>
We have become used to computers getting faster and faster, as
their internal components become smaller. This trend has now
slowed and will stop soon because matter is granular, and we
cannot reduce the width of a wire that is only a few atoms
across. See how memory density has increased exponentially over
200 years.<br>
<br>
<i>Toys, games and deep learning</i><br>
<br>
Leisure activities are now dominated by digital technologies.
See examples of robots, games consoles and animations. Learn how
the superfast hardware in games consoles has been harnessed to
speed up training of artificial intelligence applications. Can
you distinguish real-Obama from synthetic-Obama?</p>
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