October 2018 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

2019-2020 Lemelson Center Fellowships and Travel Grants (Apps Due: 1 Nov 2018)
by Hintz, Eric 08 Oct '18

08 Oct '18

**Hi SIGCIS - I'll be attending the SHOT meeting in St. Louis later this week and would be happy to chat about how our NMAH computing collections (and fellowships) might help you advance your projects! Best, Eric Hintz Fellowships and Travel Grants from the Smithsonian's Lemelson Center Apps Due: 1 November 2018 Through its fellowships and travel grants, the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation supports research projects that present creative approaches to the study of invention and innovation in American society. Projects may include (but are not limited to) historical research and documentation projects resulting in dissertations, publications, exhibitions, educational initiatives, documentary films, or other multimedia products. Our programs provide access to the expertise of the Institution's research staff<http://americanhistory.si.edu/about/staff> and the vast invention and technology collections of the National Museum of American History (NMAH). The NMAH Archives Center<http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/collections> documents both individuals and firms across a range of time periods and subject areas. Representative collections include the Western Union Telegraph Company Records, ca. 1840-1994 and the Earl S. Tupper Papers, documenting Tupper, and his invention, Tupperware. In addition, the NMAH Library offers long runs of historical technology serials like Scientific American and American Machinist, and the American Trade Literature collection<http://library.si.edu/trade-literature>, which includes 300,000 catalogs, technical manuals, and advertising brochures for some 30,000 firms, primarily from 1880-1945. For a comprehensive catalog of objects, manuscripts, images and research materials available at the NMAH (and other Smithsonian units), see http://www.collections.si.edu/. The Arthur Molella Distinguished Fellowship supports the work of an experienced author or senior scholar (associate/full/emeritus professor level or equivalent) from the history of technology, science and technology studies, business history, museum studies, STEAM education, or an allied field. The specific arrangement is flexible: the Molella Fellow may use the funds as a sabbatical supplement; for several short-duration visits; for a single residency focused on research and writing; or for a series of lectures leading to a major publication. The stipend is $35,000. Funds may be used flexibly to support travel for several short-term visits, living expenses for longer residences up to six months, and related research expenses; dates are flexible. Applications are due November 1, 2018. For application procedures and additional information, see http://invention.si.edu/arthur-molella-distinguished-fellowship. Applicants may wish to consult with the fellowship coordinator before submitting a proposal; contact historian Eric S. Hintz, PhD at +1 202-633-3734 or hintze(a)si.edu<mailto:hintze@si.edu>. The Lemelson Center Fellowship Program annually awards 2 to 3 fellowships to pre-doctoral graduate students, post-doctoral scholars, and other professionals who have completed advanced training. Fellows are expected to reside in the Washington, D.C. area, to participate in the Center's activities, and to make a presentation of their work to colleagues at the museum. Fellowship tenure is based upon the applicants' stated needs (and available funding) up to a maximum of ten weeks. Stipends will be $750/week for pre-doctoral fellows and $1,000/week for post-doctoral and professional fellows. Applications are due November 1, 2018. For application procedures and additional information, see http://invention.si.edu/lemelson-center-fellowship-program. Researchers may wish to consult with the fellowship coordinator before submitting a proposal; contact historian Eric S. Hintz, PhD at +1 202-633-3734 or hintze(a)si.edu<mailto:hintze@si.edu>. The Lemelson Center Travel to Collections Award Program annually awards 3 to 4 short-term travel grants to encourage the use of its invention-related collections. Awards are $150 per day for a maximum of 10 business days and may be used to cover transportation, living, and reproduction expenses; they are intended only for applicants who reside or attend school beyond commuting distance of the NMAH. Applications are due November 1, 2018. See http://invention.si.edu/lemelson-center-travel-collections-awards for application procedures and additional information. Researchers may wish to consult with the travel award coordinator before submitting a proposal; contact archivist Alison Oswald at +1 202-633-3726 or oswalda(a)si.edu<mailto:oswalda@si.edu>.

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In case you are not an IEEE member...
by David Walden 07 Oct '18

07 Oct '18

... Ksenia Tatarvhenko has an article titled "The Great Soviet Calculator Hack" in the October 2018 issue of IEEE Spectrum, starting on page 42 in my copy. The subtitle is: Programmable calculators and a sci-fi story brought Soviet teens into the digital age.

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CBI Newsletter - Fall 2018 combined issue
by Charles Babbage Institute 05 Oct '18

05 Oct '18

Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota Dear CBI Newsletter reader: The Fall 2018 issue (Volume 40, Number 1/2) of the Charles Babbage Institute Newsletter is now available. Please follow one of the links below to view it. HTML: <http://www.cbi.umn.edu/newsletter.html> http://www.cbi.umn.edu/newsletter.html PDF: http://www.cbi.umn.edu/about/nsl/v40n1_2.pdf * * * * * * The CBI Newsletter is published semi-annually. If you wish to have your email address removed from the notification list, please send an email message to <mailto:cbi@umn.edu> cbi(a)umn.edu with "newsletter unsubscribe" in the subject line.

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MacArthur Fellow from our world
by Dave Walden 05 Oct '18

05 Oct '18

https://www.macfound.org/fellows/1009/ -- Deborah Estrin

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CBI--2019-2020 Tomash Fellowship and 2019 Norberg Travel Grant programs
by Jeffrey Yost 02 Oct '18

02 Oct '18

Dear Colleagues, FYI--Tomash Fellowship and Norberg Travel Grant announcements are below. Best, Jeff *The Adelle and Erwin Tomash Fellowship in the History of IT, Charles Babbage Institute* The Charles Babbage Institute is accepting applications for the 2019-2020 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 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 Amanda Wick, CBI Interim Archivist, at abwick(a)umn.edu. 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 (PDF attachment of signed letter on letterhead is fine) 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, 2019 Application materials should be sent to cbi(a)umn.edu. A confirmation email will be sent once your application has been received. [For questions on this fellowship program, please email Outreach Historian and Admin. Dr. Juliet Burba at cbi(a)umn.edu or call 612 624-5050] Alternatively, applications/supporting material may be mailed to: Charles Babbage Institute: Tomash Fellowship 211 Andersen Library University of Minnesota 222 - 21st Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55455 *Arthur L. Norberg Travel Grant Program, Charles Babbage Institute* 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 three $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 <http://www.cbi.umn.edu/research/ntravelfundcontributors.html>. 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 250-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 must 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 in late January or early February, and travel can commence directly thereafter. Questions pertaining to collection content and access can be directed to Amanda Wick, CBI Interim Archivist, at abwick(a)umn.edu. Please direct questions about the Arthur Norberg Travel Fund to Outreach Historian and Admin. Dr. Juliet Burba, cbi(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, 2019. 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 CBI (see address listed with the Tomash Fellowship announcement). Jeffrey R. Yost, Ph.D. Director, Charles Babbage Institute Research Professor, 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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Digital history exhibition at Royal Holloway, London
by James Sumner 02 Oct '18

02 Oct '18

Forwarding on behalf of the organisers: https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/about-us/events/200-years-of-becoming-digit… https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/about-us/news/celebrate-200-years-of-becomi… 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. 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. 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. 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. Margaret <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Rock> 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. 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. 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. “In the 50 years since our computing department opened we have seen massive changes in the technologies available and how they are used. “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. *The exhibition takes place in the Exhibition Space of the Emily Wilding Davison Building until Friday 30 November 2018. ** ** **Open every day 10.00-18.00 and 20.00 on Thursdays. Admission free, no booking necessary* This exhibition traces the development of computing ideas and technology since the 1820s through four themes: /The mechanical prehistory of computing / 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. /#ilooklikeanengineer/ 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? / //Moore’s Law from beginning to end/ 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. /Toys, games and deep learning/ 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?

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