October 2015 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

Planning for SHOT meeting in Singapore, June 26-29, 2016
by Andrew Russell 10 Nov '16

10 Nov '16

Colleagues - It was nice to see so many of you for the SHOT and SIGCIS meetings this past weekend in Albuquerque. From my point of view things went extraordinarily well, and I don’t have words to express how happy I am about the quality of scholarship and spirit of camaraderie that I felt throughout the weekend. I think we all owe Nathan Ensmenger a special thanks for such a fantastic keynote presentation on computing’s environmental history - throughout the day people were calling it powerful, moving, transformative, etc. Also on Sunday, we celebrated the achievements of our colleagues, including: - the ten young scholars who were awarded travel grants from MIT Press, the Computer History Museum, and the Mahoney Fund. - Rebecca Slayton, winner of the 2015 CHM Prize for her book Arguments that Count - David Nofre, Mark Priestley, and Gerard Alberts, winners of the inaugural Mahoney Prize for their article “When Technology Became Language” - Sarah McLennan, winner of SHOT’s 2015 Robinson Prize for her paper “Computing and the Color Line,” presented in a session organized jointly by SIGCIS and EDITH, thanks to Marie Hicks and Ruth Cowan. The main purpose of this message is to reinforce and amplify my call on Sunday morning for proposals for SHOT in Singapore in June 2016. SHOT will issuing its call for papers very soon, with a deadline in late 2015. In anticipation, please be thinking about participating in one of the following ways: 1. Put forth an Open Panel Proposal for the main SHOT meeting. SHOT will place a special emphasis on “open panel” topics that SHOT will circulate widely as it publicizes the CFP. 2. Organize a Complete Panel Submission of 3 or 4 papers for the main SHOT meeting. Please feel free to use the list or to contact me (or anyone on the SIGCIS Exec) if you want to float ideas and/or find extra panelists. 3. Submit a paper or panel for the SIGCIS 2016 Workshop that will be held, as usual, at the end of the SHOT conference in Singapore on Sunday, June 26. We expect to issue the CFP for the SIGCIS Workshop well after the SHOT CFP is issued; watch this space in mid-November or early December for details. As you contemplate your participation in the Singapore meeting, please keep 2 additional things in mind: 1. This is a terrific opportunity to forge new bonds with colleagues working on computing and information-related history and STS topics in Asia and the Pacific. To that end, if you have contacts there who have not been active in SIGCIS or SHOT, please do encourage them to join the SIGCIS list and to reach out to me if they want to join or help organize a session. 2. If you are in North America or Europe, try not to be too put off by the expense of the trip - particularly if you are in the early stages of your career. SHOT and SIGCIS have been raising funds for this conference for some time, and the generosity of our communities has been nothing short of inspiring. Travel support will be available! In summary: SHOT and SIGCIS 2015 were fantastic; it’s now up to us to make SHOT and SIGCIS 2016 even better. Please get in touch with me (or the list) if you have questions, suggestions, etc. about making the most of our opportunities at the Singapore meeting! Cheers, Andy Russell SIGCIS Chair

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Marvin Minsky quotation
by Mary Murrell 21 Mar '16

21 Mar '16

I was hoping that the list might help me with the source of a quotation. Marvin Minsky is often quoted as having said the following: "Can you imagine that they used to have libraries where the books didn't talk to each other?" I have not been able to find any actual source for this. Citations, if they exist, are circular, citing back to a source that itself provides not citation. Does anybody know of a published source for this quotation? Thanks, Mary -- Mary Murrell marymurrell(a)fastmail.fm

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Spring 2016 NYC area adjunct opportunity
by Andrew Russell 30 Oct '15

30 Oct '15

Dear colleagues - I’m writing because we’re looking for an adjunct at Stevens for spring 2016, to teach 2 sections of a course called “Computers & Society.” The course topics and readings can be quite flexible, but usually consist of some computer history, ICT policy debates, computer and media culture, and ethical and societal aspects of the computing professions. If you or someone you know in the NYC area might be willing to teach this class in Spring 2016, or would like more details, please let me know (arussell(a)stevens.edu<mailto:arussell@stevens.edu>). Both sections are already scheduled. One section runs on Wednesdays from 9-11:30 am, and the other on Thursdays from 3:30-6 pm. Both are capped at 24 students. For those unfamiliar with Stevens Institute of Technology, we’re located in Hoboken, NJ, directly across the Hudson from Chelsea in Manhattan, easily accessible by bus, train, and ferry - see http://www.stevens.edu/ for details. Thanks very much, Andy --------------------------------------- Andrew L. Russell, Ph.D. Director, Program in Science & Technology Studies Associate Professor, History College of Arts & Letters Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 t. 201-216-5400 || f. 201-216-8245 arussell(a)stevens.edu<mailto:arussell@stevens.edu> || @RussellProf www.stevens.edu/cal/sts<http://www.stevens.edu/cal/sts> || www.arussell.org<http://www.arussell.org>

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CHM Archives News: John McPherson collection now open.
by Dag Spicer 27 Oct '15

27 Oct '15

CHM Archives News: The John C. McPherson collection is open for research. McPherson had a long and influential career at IBM from 1930 to 1971 where, among other things, he was involved in the development of the Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator (SSEC) and was an early and important advocate of the APL programming language. Thank you to the Council on Library and Information Resources’ Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives grant for providing funds that made processing this collection possible. You can access the John McPherson collection finding aid here: http://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/finding-aids/10273… Best wishes, Dag -- Dag Spicer Senior Curator Computer History Museum Editorial Board, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 1401 North Shoreline Boulevard Mountain View, CA 94043-1311 Tel: +1 650 810 1035 Fax: +1 650 810 1055

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2016 Arthur L. Norberg Travel Fund (Deadline: January 15, 2016)
by Jeffrey Yost 22 Oct '15

22 Oct '15

Below is an announcement about CBI's Arthur L. Norberg Travel Fund for 2016. Please pass along to any researchers who might be interested. If you have any questions, please contact me. Best, Jeff Arthur L. Norberg Travel Fund The Arthur L. Norberg Travel Fund provides short-term grants-in-aid to help scholars with travel expenses to use archival collections at the Charles Babbage Institute. In January of each year we plan to award up to five $1,000 travel grants. The Charles Babbage Institute (CBI) is an internationally recognized research center and archives focused on the history of information technology. CBI conducts major research projects; publishes books and articles; and collects, processes, and provides open public access to the most diverse and extensive collection of archival materials on computing, software, and networking in the world. CBI collections include the records of corporations, technical and trade associations, personal papers, industry publications, oral histories, photographs, film/video, and an extensive reference library. The Norberg Travel Fund is named for CBI’s founding director, Arthur L. Norberg, and is funded by generous gifts from his friends and colleagues. To Apply: Applicants should send a 2-page CV as well as a 500-word project description that describes the overall research project, identifies the importance of specific CBI collections, and discusses the projected outcome (journal article, book chapter, museum exhibit, etc.). Applicants are strongly encouraged to examine the extensive on-line finding guides to CBI’s 200-plus archival collections at www.cbi.umn.edu/collections/archmss.html. Applicants should estimate how many days they plan to use CBI collections during their visit (travel should generally be in the calendar year of the award). To be eligible, scholars will reside outside the Twin Cities metropolitan region. Recipients will be asked to do a short write-up about their research visit for the CBI Newsletter. Notification of awards will be made by mid-February, and travel can commence directly thereafter. Questions pertaining to collection content and access can be directed to R. Arvid Nelsen, CBI Archivist, at nels0307(a)umn.edu. Please direct questions about the Arthur Norberg Travel Fund to Jeffrey Yost, CBI Associate Director, yostx003(a)umn.edu, 612.624.5050. For additional information, see www.cbi.umn.edu <http://www.cbi.umn.edu/index.html>. Materials must be received by CBI no later than January 15, 2016. Application materials should be sent to cbi(a)umn.edu. A confirmation email will be sent once your application has been received. Alternatively, applications may be mailed to: Charles Babbage Institute: Norberg Travel Grant 211 Andersen Library University of Minnesota 222 - 21st Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55455 -- Jeffrey R. Yost, Ph.D. Associate Director, Charles Babbage Institute Faculty, Program in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine 222 21st Avenue South University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55455 612 624 5050 Phone 612 625 8054 Fax

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2016-2017 Adelle and Erwin Tomash Graduate Fellowship (Jan. 15, 2016 Application Deadline)
by Jeffrey Yost 22 Oct '15

22 Oct '15

Hi all, Below is an announcement for the 2016-2017 Tomash pre-doctoral fellowship competition for ABD students researching/writing a dissertation on some aspect of computer/software/networking history. Please pass along to any doctoral students who may be interested. If you have any questions about the fellowship, please contact me. Best, Jeff *2016-2017 Adelle and Erwin Tomash Graduate Fellowship* The Charles Babbage Institute is accepting applications for the 2016-2017 Adelle and Erwin Tomash Graduate Fellowship. The fellowship will be awarded to a graduate student for doctoral dissertation research in the history of computing. The fellowship may be held at the recipient's home academic institution, the Charles Babbage Institute, or any other location with appropriate research facilities. The stipend is $14,000. It is intended for students who have completed all requirements for the doctoral degree except the research and writing of the dissertation. Tomash Fellowship recipients must remain students in good standing throughout the term of their fellowship, but there is no restriction on holding other fellowships, scholarships, or awards concurrent to the Tomash Fellowship. Preference will be given to applicants indicating a need to use CBI materials, planning research in residence at CBI, and willing to make a brief presentation of their research findings to CBI staff. Questions pertaining to collection content and access can be directed to R. Arvid Nelsen, CBI Archivist, at nels0307(a)umn.edu. To Apply: Applicants should send to CBI a curriculum vitae and a five-page (single-spaced) statement and justification of the research project including a discussion of methods, research materials, evidence of faculty support for the project, and bibliography (bibliography does not count toward page count). Applicants should also arrange for three letters of reference and certified copies of graduate school transcripts to be sent directly to CBI. All materials must be received by CBI no later than January 15, 2016. Application materials should be sent to cbi(a)umn.edu. A confirmation email will be sent once your application has been received. Alternatively, applications may be mailed to: Charles Babbage Institute: Tomash Fellowship 211 Andersen Library University of Minnesota 222 - 21st Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55455 Please direct questions about the Tomash Fellowship to Jeffrey Yost, CBI Associate Director, yostx003(a)umn.edu, 612.624.5050 -- Jeffrey R. Yost, Ph.D. Associate Director, Charles Babbage Institute Faculty, Program in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine 222 21st Avenue South University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55455 612 624 5050 Phone 612 625 8054 Fax

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Assistant professor position at Chalmers
by Gustav Sjöblom 20 Oct '15

20 Oct '15

Dear SIGCIS members, Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, is looking for an assistant professor in the history of science and technology, deadline 1 December 2015. http://www.chalmers.se/en/about-chalmers/vacancies/?rmpage=job&rmjob=3425 The recruitment is part of the build-up of a research group in the history of technology and science at Chalmers. Current members of the group include SIGCIS members Per Lundin (author of Computers in Swedish Society) and Gustav Sjöblom (SIGCIS Vice Chair for Europe), so this is a great opportunity to do history of computing. The position is a four-year contract. There is an expectation that the applicant is prepared to teach undergraduates in Swedish after two years. If you have any queries, please contact me or Per. Best wishes, Gustav ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gustav Sjöblom Assistant Professor, PhD (Cantab) Teknikens ekonomi och organisation| Department of technology management and economics Innovationsteknik | Innovation Engineering and Management +46(0)31 772 1232 +46(0)70-2014011 (mobile) [cid:image001.jpg@01CC2F3C.8093B9D0] Chalmers tekniska högskola | Chalmers University of Technology Vera Sandbergs allé 8A SE-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden http://www.chalmers.se/tme/SV/organisation/personliga-sidor/sjoblom-gustav9… http://gustavsjoblom.blogspot.com/

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Oy! Another crazy computer history claim
by Evan Koblentz 19 Oct '15

19 Oct '15

NY's Metropolitan Transit Authority -- the people who runs the subways, trains, and buses -- hired a tour guide for Grand Central Station who's saying that the terminal's circa-1913 electromechanical signaling system is "the first electronic computer". Who was the chief engineer, Shiva Ayyadurai? This story is very unfortunately in Gothamist -- a very popular NYC site. I shudder to think how many people now accept it as fact. http://gothamist.com/2015/10/15/grand_central_computer_video.php#photo-7

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The "type" concept in programming languages
by Kevin Driscoll 18 Oct '15

18 Oct '15

This is a neat paper that traces the emergence of "type" as a technical term in programming languages by turning back to the documentation of FORTRAN, Algol 58, etc. Kevin -- Martini, Simone. “Several Types of Types in Programming Languages.” arXiv:1510.03726 [cs], October 13, 2015. http://arxiv.org/abs/1510.03726. Types are an important part of any modern programming language, but we often forget that the concept of type we understand nowadays is not the same it was perceived in the sixties. Moreover, we conflate the concept of "type" in programming languages with the concept of the same name in mathematical logic, an identification that is only the result of the convergence of two different paths, which started apart with different aims. The paper will present several remarks (some historical, some of more conceptual character) on the subject, as a basis for a further investigation. The thesis we will argue is that there are three different characters at play in programming languages, all of them now called types: the technical concept used in language design to guide implementation; the general abstraction mechanism used as a modelling tool; the classifying tool inherited from mathematical logic. We will suggest three possible dates ad quem for their presence in the programming language literature, suggesting that the emergence of the concept of type in computer science is relatively independent from the logical tradition, until the Curry-Howard isomorphism will make an explicit bridge between them.

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Fwd: Call for Papers: SHOT 2016 (Singapore, 22-26 June)
by Andrew Russell 16 Oct '15

16 Oct '15

All - With apologies to those of you (which is probably most of you) who have already received this - please see the beginnings of the CFP for SHOT 2016 below. The rest is at http://www.historyoftechnology.org/call_for_papers/index.html. The text from the website has some specifics about the Open Panel logistics, which is a relatively new procedure for SHOT: "Individuals interested in finding others to join panel sessions for the Annual Meeting may propose Open Sessions to the Secretary's office via email, starting October 15, with a final deadline of December 1. Open Sessions descriptions, along with organizer contact information, will appear as soon as possible on the SHOT website, on the Open Sessions List<http://www.historyoftechnology.org/call_for_papers/open_panels.html>. (The earlier the proposal is received by the Secretary, the earlier it will be posted to the Open Sessions List.)” [snip] Ready, set, go! Andy Begin forwarded message: From: Society for the History of Technology <shotsec(a)auburn.edu<mailto:shotsec@auburn.edu>> Date: October 16, 2015 at 2:02:21 PM EDT To: andrew.russell(a)stevens.edu<mailto:andrew.russell@stevens.edu> Subject: Call for Papers: SHOT 2016 (Singapore, 22-26 June) Society for the History of Technology 16 October 2015 Call for Papers: 2016 SHOT Annual Meeting (Singapore, 22-26 June) The Society for the History of Technology is pleased to announce the Call for Papers for our 2016 meeting in Singapore! Formed in 1958, SHOT is an interdisciplinary and international organization concerned not only with the history of technological devices and processes but also with technology in history, the development of technology, and its relations with society and culture --that is, the relationship of technology to politics, economics, science, the arts, and the organization of production, and with the role it plays in the differentiation of individuals in society. Accordingly, the Program Committee invites paper and session proposals on any topic in a broadly defined history of technology, including topics that push the boundaries of the discipline. The Committee welcomes proposals for complete sessions (preferred) or individual papers from researchers at all levels. We also welcome proposals from all researchers, whether veterans or newcomers to SHOT's meetings, and regardless of primary discipline. Submitters are encouraged to propose sessions that include a diverse mix of participants: multinational origins, gender, graduate students and junior scholars with senior scholars, significantly diverse institutional affiliations, etc. For more information, or to submit a proposal, please visit the 2016 Call for Papers site at http://www.historyoftechnology.org/call_for_papers/index.html<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001F9mMijumDz5dc4oG9WepCB9e7qOGvPjT3xM50n_PUBmQ…>. - David Lucsko, Secretary Society for the History of Technology Forward this email<http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?llr=ieifeldab&m=1103106318472&ea=…> [http://img.constantcontact.com/letters/images/SafeUnsubscribe_Footer_Logo_N…]<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&m=001Xz26gWD0CDOi01mES8w44A%3D%3…> This email was sent to andrew.russell(a)stevens.edu<mailto:andrew.russell@stevens.edu> by shotsec(a)auburn.edu<mailto:shotsec@auburn.edu> | Rapid removal with SafeUnsubscribe<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&m=001Xz26gWD0CDOi01mES8w44A%3D%3…>™ | About our service provider<http://ui.constantcontact.com/roving/CCPrivacyPolicy.jsp>. [http://img.constantcontact.com/letters/images/CC_Footer_Logo_New.png]<http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=TEM_BusLet_003> Society for the History of Technology | David Lucsko | Department of History | 310 Thach Hall | Auburn University | AL | 36849-5207

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