November 2020 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

Peter Landin Semantics seminar on History of ALGOL 60, 3rd December at 18:00
by Troy Astarte 27 Nov '20

27 Nov '20

Dear all, The following webinar may be of interest. Please see the end of the email for details on the seminar. Webinar: BCS-FACS 2020 AGM & Landin Seminar https://www.bcs.org/events/2020/december/webinar-bcs-facs-2020-agm/ Registration: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bcs-facs-2020-agm-tickets-121367745193 The Annual Peter Landin Semantics seminar will follow the AGM. Speakers Tim Denvir and Troy Astarte Agenda This online event will be held on Zoom. 15:30 - Informal chat with your own coffee/tea/biscuits 16:00 - AGM Agenda Apologies (Jonathan Bowen) Minutes of the previous AGM (Roger Carsley/Jonathan Bowen) Chairman's Report (Jonathan Bowen) Liaison Reports (Rob Hierons et al.) Statement of Accounts (John Cooke) Election of Officers and Committee Members* (Jonathan Bowen) Future events (Sofia Meacham/Jonathan Bowen et al.) FACS online (Jonathan Bowen/Tim Denvir et al.) Any other business * Please email the current FACS chair, Jonathan Bowen on jonathan.bowen(a)lsbu.ac.uk<mailto:jonathan.bowen@lsbu.ac.uk> by the end of 1 December 2020 if you would like to stand for the position of chair, secretary, or treasurer, or to join the FACS committee. 17:15 - Informal chat with your own coffee/tea/biscuits 18:00 - Annual Peter Landin Semantics Seminar 19:30 - Close Synopsis Tim Denvir<http://www.denvir.net/Tim/> & Troy Astarte<http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/troy.astarte/> - Algol 60 @ 60: its place in formal semantics This talk celebrates the programming language Algol 60, 60 years on, especially its formal aspects. See also an article in the FACS FACTS newsletter<https://www.bcs.org/media/5842/facs-jun20.pdf> (June 2020, pp. 7-12) Abstract Algol 60, an inspiration for many languages which followed it, Pascal, C, Simula, Java and others, was very carefully defined. Following its predecessor International Algorithmic Language (IAL, or later ALGOL 58), its syntax was defined in BNF, itself a formal language, in the “Report” and “Revised Report on the Algorithmic Language Algol 60”, generally known as the Algol 60 Report. From the report, it is clear that the whole project was guided by formal considerations, even if there was no specific formal semantics in the definition. Peter Landin was one of several people who published a formal semantics for Algol 60: Landin’s came in two parts in 1965 in CACM Volume 8. This was an early part of an emerging zeitgeist for formal semantic specification of programming languages. The talk will describe some of the history of the language’s definition and the background of its authors, and will comment upon Peter Landin’s semantics and Algol’s relation to Church's λ-calculus. Some other semantic descriptions of ALGOL 60 will be overviewed in addition. Finally, the impact and influence of ALGOL 60 will be explored. Our events are for adults aged 16 years and over. This event is brought to you by: BCS FACS specialist group<https://www.bcs.org/membership/member-communities/facs-formal-aspects-of-co…>

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Vacancy: Archives Development Manager
by Research 26 Nov '20

26 Nov '20

Archives of IT (AIT), https://archivesit.org.uk/, is a charity that collects and presents oral history. Our focus is the people and organisations of the UK IT industry 1950 to 2020: who they are and how they worked to change the world with the devices that are to be found in the UKs excellent computing collections. AIT seeks to appoint a person to develop our approach to and funding for audience engagement. This is a hands-on role, demanding experience and skills in heritage management, fundraising, communications and knowledge of the industry. The appointment will initially be on an interim / project basis with the potential for extension to a permanent, executive role. Mail research(a)archivesit.org.uk<mailto:research@archivesit.org.uk> by 4 December 2020 for more information

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Cities and Computers: Our Urban-Machinic Imaginaries: Dec 4
by Ranjodh Singh Dhaliwal 23 Nov '20

23 Nov '20

Dear SIGCIS friends, Just forwarding information re: an event that may be of interest to many on this list. Hope you have a wonderful week ahead! Please stay safe. >cheers/ranjodh/ ---- *Apologies for cross-posting* Please consider joining us on *Friday, December 4, 9am Pacific Time* for 'Cities and Computers: Our Urban-Machinic Imaginaries'. This event brings together an interdisciplinary group of scholars interested in interrogating the many shifting registers of the terms 'cities' and 'computers' and how they get historically, mediatically, aesthetically, metaphorically, and conceptually interlocked, or mapped on to each other. Talking about their latest work would be Shannon Mattern (New School), Brian House (Lewis & Clark), Yuriko Furuhata (McGill), and Ranjodh Singh Dhaliwal (UC Davis and Universität Siegen). May Ee Wong and Tobias Smith (UC Davis) will co-moderate the round-table. Please register at https://ucdavis.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAodeivrjoqGtC-2QBJtR8Wxy3N9jXK8g… or https://tinyurl.com/citiescomputers for your zoom link! And feel free to forward to anyone else who may be interested. The event is organized by the Technocultural Futures Research Cluster, and sponsored by Science and Technology Studies <https://sts.ucdavis.edu/> at UC Davis. We hope to see you there! If you have any questions, please direct them to me (rjdhaliwal(a)ucdavis.edu) Best wishes, Ranjodh -- *Ranjodh Singh Dhaliwal* Visiting Fellow, Sonderforschungsbereich “Medien der Kooperation,” Universität Siegen. Provost's Dissertation Fellow in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Doctoral Candidate in English and Science and Technology Studies, University of California, Davis https://www.ranjodhdhaliwal.com/ This email was sent from a mobile device. Please excuse the typos.

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Historical list of computer stores
by Nabeel Siddiqui 22 Nov '20

22 Nov '20

Hello, I’m trying to determine some information on the rise of computer stores and was wondering if anyone knew how to find a list (such as business registration), I’m particularly interested in the time between early 1970s and early 1990s. https://www.nabeelsiddiqui.net

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Percy Ludgate 1883-1922 - Irish Computer Pioneer
by Brian Randell 20 Nov '20

20 Nov '20

Hi: During the last few years I’ve been involved in a project led by Brian Coghlan (Trinity College, Dublin) investigating the Life and work of Percy Ludgate. The paper that has been produced on the work of the project to date has just been accepted by the IEEE Annals. The full text of the paper is available at: https://www.scss.tcd.ie/SCSSTreasuresCatalog/miscellany/TCD-SCSS-X.20121208… Abstract: Percy Edwin Ludgate (1883-1922) is notable as the second person to publish a design for an Analytical Machine, the first after Babbage’s “Analytical Engine”. We outline the initial results of the first new investigation into the work and life of Percy Ludgate since Randell’s papers of nearly 50 years ago and nearly 100 years after Ludgate’s death. Firstly we examine the principles of his machine and how it was constructed and worked. Secondly we outline his life. We present a range of new material, including two significant discoveries, one concerning Ludgate’s machine, the other his family. Cheers Brian Randell — School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG EMAIL = Brian.Randell(a)ncl.ac.uk<mailto:Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk> PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 URL = http://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/people/profile/brianrandell.html

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IBM Apologizes For Firing Computer Pioneer For Being Transgender...52 Years Later
by Brian Randell 20 Nov '20

20 Nov '20

Hi: I was delighted to see this news story about Lynn Conway at last receiving an apology from IBM for the way she was treated over her gender transition. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremyalicandri/2020/11/18/ibm-apologizes-for-… Her amazing career is well-summarised in Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Conway I worked with Lynn in the 1960s in IBM’s ACS Project. I told the story of our collaboration, on Dynamic Instruction Scheduling, and of how I learned of her subsequent career and triumphs over adversity, in an IEEE Annals of the History of Computing paper - whose text is available at https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/326580149.pdf Cheers Brian Randell

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history, technology and education of theoretical math/cs concepts
by Paul Fishwick 19 Nov '20

19 Nov '20

There is a topic that has interested me, but I have been unable to make much headway in past years since I am not sure where to look. Consider that Kathy, an 8th grade student, knows more about how to use a computer than her parents, who may know more than her grandparents. When learning to use digital technology artifacts such as “menu”, education is imparted on Kathy. She learns something about tree structures, and possibly finite state machines (FSMs). This is done invisibly because she did not have to learn discrete mathematics and automata theory to use the computer. One hypothesis that all technology is this way. We use technology and technology uses us (by invisibly transferring new mental models). The introduction of the mechanical clock changed how we conceptualize time. Fast forwarding to digital technology, Kathy must have conceptualized trees and FSMs as mental models even though this theory was not made explicit. My searches have taken me to psychology (where the dominant discourse is about dysfunction where technology is concerned), history of technology as well as the history of science. This relates to math and computer science education too—teaching FSMs to people through implicit means. Learning something without knowing that your learning it. If anyone on this list has a good place for me to dive, let me know. -paul Paul Fishwick, PhD Distinguished University Chair of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication Professor of Computer Science Director, Creative Automata Laboratory The University of Texas at Dallas Arts & Technology 800 West Campbell Road, AT10 Richardson, TX 75080-3021 Home: utdallas.edu/atec/fishwick Media: medium.com/@metaphorz Modeling: digest.sigsim.org Twitter: @PaulFishwick ONLINE: Webex,Collaborate, TEAMS, Zoom, Skype, Hangout

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ACM History Fellowship - Call for Proposals - due 2/15/21
by Tracy, Kim 19 Nov '20

19 Nov '20

Dear Colleagues, The link below provides an announcement to the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) 2021 fellowship competition for research projects on or centrally related to ACM history. The ACM History Committee runs this program, which has resulted over 35 fellowships awarded<https://history.acm.org/projects-and-initiatives/fellowship-for-the-advance…> since the start of this fellowship program in 2009. Many of these awards have gone to scholars (graduate students to senior scholars) in the SHOT and SIGCIS communities. The submission deadline for proposals is February 15, 2021. See https://history.acm.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ACM-fellowship_CFP_2021-… for proposal submission requirements and further details. Thanks, --Kim Kim W. Tracy Visiting Asst. Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering (he/him/his) ROSE-HULMAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 5500 Wabash Avenue | Terre Haute, IN 47803-3999 Room: Moench D216 | tracy(a)rose-hulman.edu<mailto:tracy@rose-hulman.edu> Phone: 812.877.8343 | Fax: 812.877.8343 www.rose-hulman.edu<http://www.rose-hulman.edu>

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Gladys West: the hidden figure who helped invent GPS
by Brian Randell 19 Nov '20

19 Nov '20

Hi: From today's Guardian newspaper: Gladys West: the hidden figure who helped invent GPS Growing up on a farm in Virginia during segregation, West knew education would be her means of escape. But she didn’t know her quiet work on a naval base would change lives around the world by Aamna Mohdin Main image: Gladys West, at her home in Virginia. Photograph: Andre West Thu 19 Nov 2020 06.00 GMT Gladys West knew from a young age that she didn’t want to be a farmer. But the mathematician, born in 1930 in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, still had to help harvest crops on her family’s small farm. The hard work started before daybreak and lasted well into the blistering heat of the afternoon. She hated the dirt but, while she worked, she kept her mind on the building behind the trees at the end of the farm. It was her school, and even then she knew it would be her ticket to freedom. “I was gonna get an education and I was going to get out of there. I wasn’t going to be stuck there all my life,” West, 89, says firmly, on Zoom in her home in Virginia. What she could not have guessed was that this focus would shatter the perceptions of black women of the time and even lead to the invention of one of our most widely used inventions – GPS<https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gps>, the global positioning system. <snip> Full story at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/nov/19/gladys-west-the-hidden-figu… Cheers Brian — School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG EMAIL = Brian.Randell(a)ncl.ac.uk<mailto:Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk> PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 URL = http://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/people/profile/brianrandell.html

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Tomash Fellowship and Norberg (remote use) grants
by Jeffrey Yost 18 Nov '20

18 Nov '20

Dear Colleagues, CBI's Tomash Fellowship and Norberg grant announcements below... If you have any questions, please let me know. Best, Jeff *The Charles Babbage Institute is now accepting applications for the 2021-2022 Adelle and Erwin Tomash Dissertation Fellowship. *The fellowship will be awarded to a graduate student for doctoral dissertation research in the history of computing. We welcome applications from history/HST, and from allied fields (including but not limited to STS, sociology, anthropology, communication, geography, and media studies--dissertation project must be historically focused). 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 plan to use CBI materials (remotely if necessary) and willing to make a brief presentation of their research findings to CBI staff and HSTM (by Zoom). 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 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, 2021. http://www.cbi.umn.edu/research/tfellowship.html Application materials should be sent to cbi(a)umn.edu. A confirmation email will be sent once your application has been received. *Norberg Travel Grant Program* (This year, given the global pandemic, and MN's situation being particularly dire right now, we will be offering more and smaller scanning reimbursement grants for remote use of collections, and no travel, the reading room is temporarily closed) 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. This coming year, given the global COVID-19 pandemic, we will be awarding grants to use the collections remotely through placing scanning orders based on applicants' surveying our finding aids/guides. We will offer more awards than usual at a lesser amount. All awards will be for reimbursement up to $400. These are reimbursement grants for scanning, photo use fees, or other expenses to access CBI materials remotely. 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 relevant on-line finding guides to CBI’s 300-plus archival collections www.cbi.umn.edu/collections/archmss.html. Applications not indicating (likely) collections you are interested in for your project will not be considered. Scanning orders must be placed no later than Oct. 31, 2021. Notification of awards will be made by mid-February and scanning orders 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 Jeffrey Yost, CBI Director, yostx003(a)umn.edu For additional information, see www.cbi.umn.edu. Materials must be received by CBI no later than January 15, 2021 Please direct questions about the Tomash Fellowship or Norberg grants to Jeffrey Yost, CBI Director, yostx003(a)umn.ed <yostx003(a)umn.edu>u *"Injustice wears the same harsh face wherever it shows itself."*-Ralph Ellison 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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