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open panels at SHOT
by Christopher Leslie 14 Nov '15

14 Nov '15

Dear Colleagues, The next SHOT conference will be held 22-26 June 2016 in Singapore. This is an earlier date than is typical. As usual, SIGCIS will have a themed workshop after the conference proper, but we also like to bring our work on computers, information and society to the main SHOT program. With this in mind, the SIGCIS executive committee notes that any conference-goer may organize an “Open Session.” I am writing to you today because we thought it would be a good idea to forward this information to the membership and encourage any effort to participate in regular panels as well as the SIGCIS workshop. As noted on SHOT’s website, anyone interested in organizing a panel should notify the Secretary’s office by email (shotsec(a)auburn.edu) before December 1. The email should include the session title, a 500-word description, and a contact email. This information will then be publicized on the SHOT website, and the organizer could/should seek other panelists (using this email list, H-NET, etc.). The ultimate composition of the panel will be up to the organizer. Organizers have until Dec. 15 to submit their finished panel as a traditional session for consideration by the program committee. The criteria for inclusion in the SHOT program are “quality and adherence to SHOT standards of gender, geographic, and institutional diversity.” The guidelines for a traditional panel require a short proposal and brief CVs from each participant. More information is available on the SHOT website ( http://www.historyoftechnology.org/call_for_papers/) The CFP for the SIGCIS workshop will be coming in due course. Sincerely, Chris Leslie -- Christopher S. Leslie, Ph.D. Co-Director and Lecturer, Science and Technology Studies Faculty Fellow in Residence for Othmer Hall and Clark Street Vice Chair, IFIP History of Computing Working Group 9.7 NYU Tandon School of Engineering 5 MetroTech Center, LC 131 Brooklyn, NY 11201 (646) 997-3130

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Pierre Mounier is OK
by James Cortada 14 Nov '15

14 Nov '15

Professor Mounier in Paris and his wife are OK. They live away enough from where the sad events took place to be fine. He e-mailed me the good new late last night. -- James W. Cortada Senior Research Fellow Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota jcortada(a)umn.edu 608-274-6382

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Save the Date! Extending Play 3, Sept. 30 - Oct. 1, 2016
by James A. Hodges 10 Nov '15

10 Nov '15

I'm pleased to announce that the third installment of our conference, Extending Play, will take place in Rutgers University-New Brunswick's Busch Campus Center, from September 30 to October 1, 2016. Extending Play is an interdisciplinary conference organized by PhD students in the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers, bringing together scholars, makers, and key thinkers to address topics related to playable media. We'll be continuing the work that started in 2013, with Extending Play: The Premier, and continued with 2015's Extending Play 2: The Sequel. Take a look at our previous conferences by visiting http://mediacon.rutgers.edu/. This installment of the illustrious conference series will examine the relationship between play and time in all forms of game, sport, performance, and recorded media. Stay tuned for a full CFP and a brand-new website! --- *james a. hodges* *school of communication & information* *rutgers university* *james.hodges(a)rutgers.edu <james.hodges(a)rutgers.edu>* *@jameshodges_ <https://twitter.com/jameshodges_>* *908.461.8246*

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Good video on history of the Internet?
by McMillan, William W 09 Nov '15

09 Nov '15

Hello, SIGCIS. Can you recommend a video on the history of the Internet that is available online? This is for a general education, freshman-level class Foundations of Computer Science. I'd prefer one that is no more than 30 minutes long, or that would still be interesting if only a 30-min segment were viewed. Thanks! Bill

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seeking information and research guidance on an early computer image created in 1965 called the Digital Mona Lisa
by andy patros 08 Nov '15

08 Nov '15

Hello SIGCIS, I’ve been conducting research on an early computer generated image, (created in 1965), called the Digital Mona Lisa. The process for it’s creation was developed by H. Philip Peterson while he was with Control Data Digigraphic Lab in Burlington, Massachusetts. I’ve learned much about Mr. Peterson and his Mona project, but I consider my research far from definitive. I feel that there are still gaps in the information I’ve been able to uncover. The other part of the Peterson Mona project that I have just begun to research is of the Calcomp plotter end of this project. I know even less about this segment. In an effort to leave as many stones unturned as possible, if you have knowledge of this project, could you contact me via email? I’d be happy to let you know what I’ve learned to this point, as we all what I still hope to learn. Thank you for any assistance that can be provided. Regards, Andy Patros 1127 Pennsylvania Ave. Elmira, NY 14904 apatros(a)stny.rr.com <mailto:apatros@stny.rr.com> www.digitalmonalisa.com <http://www.digitalmonalisa.com/>

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3 New Historical Movies -- Zuse, Atanasoff, Stibitz
by Dag Spicer 05 Nov '15

05 Nov '15

Hello! I’m delighted to report that we have recently digitizd a group of historical films featuring many of the first-generation of computer pioneers. These were recorded at CHM’s predecessor institution, The Computer Museum in Boston. Today we release three of these historical lectures, featuring Konrad Zuse, John Vincent Atanasoff, and George Stibitz. More lectures are forthomcing as we complete digitization. (There are about 15 lectures in all). You can read about the new films, including links to the full lectures, here: http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/first-steps-lectures-from-the-dawn-of-… Enjoy! 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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ACM History Committee -- fellowships (deadline = 1 Feb. 2016)
by Thomas J. Misa 04 Nov '15

04 Nov '15

Hello all, The ACM History Committee is pleased to announce the 2016 research fellowships -- deadline 1 Feb. 2016, with particulars below. Sessions at the recent SHOT meeting in Albuquerque featured eight of these research projects. See sessions 7 (Artificial Sciences? Technology, Education, and Professional Networks in Early Computing) and 38 (Rewiring Public and Private: Computing for Public Sector and Public Interest) at <http://www.historyoftechnology.org/media/ABQ/2015_schedule_of_sessions.pdf>. Past awardees should please check that your "project results" are current at <http://history.acm.org/public/public_documents/acm_history_fellows.php>. Prompt and complete reporting of project results is, of course, a precondition for ongoing support of research -- you'll see there's a virtuous circle operating here! Updates to me, please. Best, Tom Misa ACM History Committee chair (2014-16) ===================================== ACM History Committee Call for Proposals 2016 Fellowships in ACM History The Association for Computing Machinery, founded in 1947, is the oldest and largest educational and scientific society dedicated to the computing profession, and today has more than 100,000 members around the world. The ACM History Committee supports research projects related to ACM’s professional and educational activities and its rich institutional history including conferences, publications, and SIG activities. We will support up to four research projects with awards of up to $4,000 each. Successful candidates may be of any rank, from graduate students through senior researchers. See list of past supported projects <history.acm.org/public/public_documents/acm_history_fellows.php>. To Apply: Applicants should send a 2-page CV as well as a 750-word project description that [a] describes the proposed research; [b] identifies specific ACM historical materials, whether traditional archival collections or online historical materials (oral histories, digitized conference papers, ACM organizational records, etc.); [c] discusses project outcomes (e.g. journal article, book or dissertation chapter, teaching resource, museum exhibit, website); and [d] outlines a timeline for completing the project—generally within 12 months. In preparing a proposal, applicants should examine the document “ACM Research Materials” posted at <history.acm.org/content.php?do=links> as well as “Sources for ACM History,” CACM 50 #5 (May 2007): 36-41 <doi.acm.org/10.1145/1230819.1230836>. Other research materials relating to ACM may be used. Applicants should include a brief letter of endorsement from their home institution or an external scholarly reference. Proposals are due by 1 February 2016. Proposals should be submitted as a single pdf-format document to <history-webmaster(a)acm.org>. Notification of awards will be made within 8 weeks. =============================================================

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international English-Chinese volume
by Thomas J. Misa 03 Nov '15

03 Nov '15

SHOT president Francesca Bray encourages members in the community to vote for three key articles in history of science, technology, and medicine; see why this matters below. There are no restrictions on who may vote; each person can nominate one article in each field -- but only one ballot per person. See link to SurveyMonkey below --Tom Dear SHOT members, I invite you to nominate your choice of influential articles or chapters in the history of science, technology, and medicine for a new publishing venture. Last spring I was approached by the directors of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) and the President of HSS to see if our Society would assist them in a publication project in which influential articles from our field would be translated into Chinese and issued as an anthology. In turn, historians of science, technology and medicine in Asia are selecting ten outstanding articles in Chinese to be translated into English and published by the MPIWG. We hope in this way to forge closer links among scholars working in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Both publications will be available in open access on-line, as well as in print form. The MPIWG will obtain the permissions and underwrite the costs of translation and publication. We hope that you will participate in choosing which articles should be translated. Our sister societies in the history of science and history of medicine have also joined this cooperative project. The result is that a poll has been launched for your nominations of influential articles in the history of science, technology, and medicine. Please participate! You can submit your nominations (one each for history of science, history of technology, and history of medicine) at https://de.surveymonkey.com/r/reader-projct The poll is not restricted to our membership, so please feel free to forward this link to colleagues, graduate students, or others who might like to nominate articles. We look forward to seeing which articles you wish to share with colleagues and readers in Asia! Warm wishes, Francesca Bray SHOT President 2015-16 francesca.bray(a)ed.ac.uk

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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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