- Members - lists.sigcis.org

An introduction
by David Greelish 28 Oct '10

28 Oct '10

Hello everyone, I am not an academic, but I wanted to introduce myself and share a new project that I am especially excited about. I consider myself a computer historian, as I have been an enthusiast, researcher and collector for about 18 years now. I used to publish a newsletter about computer history called "Historically Brewed." That was pre-internet, and pre-"my life got way more complicated / family / etc." I have recently really geared up in my activity, starting a blog, and getting back to doing two podcasts I started a few years ago. I would like to highlight my newest project though, as I am now able to collaborate in a discussion group podcast called the "Retro Computing Roundtable" podcast. I hope everyone might consider giving it a listen. This first one is over an hour and a half, but future sessions will just be an hour (lessons learned). Thanks! http://web.me.com/dgreelish/Classic_Computing_Podcasts/Retro_Computing_Roun… Best, David Greelish, Computer Historian Classic Computing The Home of Computer History Nostalgia http://www.classiccomputing.com Classic Computing Blog Classic Computing Show video podcast "Stan Veit's History of the Personal Computer" audiobook podcast Retro Computing Roundtable podcast Historical Computer Society meeting - first Wednesday of each month. Classic Computing Expo 1.0 - planned for March 2011!

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Book about NTNU computer history
by Ola Nordal 20 Oct '10

20 Oct '10

Dear SIGCIS-people I would just take the opportunity to do a bit of self advertising for my recent book about the history of computing at NTNU - the Norwegian University of Science and Technology: /Verktøy og vitenskap -- Datahistorien ved NTNU./ The book is unfortunately only available in Norwegian. I hope to publish more in English about this material with time. The book follows the history of computing at the NTNU as tool and science, from the first electronic differential analyser developed in the physics department in the mid 1930s, via the first general analogue computer built in the early 1950s, the advance of digital computing in the 1960s, the formation of a computer science department in the 1970s, the turn towards personal computing and super computing in the 1980s and the internet revolution in the 1990s/2000s. Regards, Ola Nordal Historian at NTNU, Trondheim, Norway -- Ola Nordal NTNUs Jubileumshistorie 2010 tlf: 99354075 / 735 94892 ola.nordal(a)ntnu.no http://ntnu.no/2010

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CFP: Conference on the History of Atmospheric Chemistry at CHF in Philadelphia
by Thomas Haigh 14 Oct '10

14 Oct '10

I'm forwarding this on behalf of the organizer, Jim Fleming. http://www.colby.edu/sts/JimFleming.html He's a tireless researcher, who has done an enormous amount as founder of the STS program at Colby College and a community builder within the history of meteorology. Jim's indicated an interest in proposals on computer related themes regarding atmospheric pollution, climate modeling, etc. Note that they have "partial support" for travel of "selected participants." Tom Chemical Weather and Chemical Climate: Body, Place, Planet in Historical Perspective Gordon Cain Conference on the History of Atmospheric Chemistry Chemical Heritage Foundation, Philadelphia, PA March 31-April 1, 2011 Call for Papers: The atmosphere is as intimate and personal as a breath of air; it also manifests in particular ways in particular locales and as global phenomena with international social, political, and economic dimensions. The phrase "chemical weather" invokes the temporal and spatial variability and complexity of atmospheric chemical processes. Air quality forecasts indicating expected levels of pollutants such as smog, ozone, pollen, and suspended particulate matter are one example of this; etiological studies of air pollution and health are another; military and security concerns over poison gas and aerosol attacks represent yet a third area of focus. "Chemical climate" refers to large scale and long-term interactions also known as bio-geo-chemical cycles, their changes, and their social import. The 2011 Gordon Cain Conference seeks papers and posters that present original research, examine historiographical issues, and/or pursue historical syntheses in the field of atmospheric chemistry (broadly defined). Special consideration will be given to contributions addressing issues of scale-for example lungs, locales, and trans-boundary issues-and exploring interdisciplinary perspectives involving literature, art, architecture, and related fields. Papers may also involve case studies of chemical industries, governance, regulation, and litigation. Presenters are encouraged to emphasize the social relevance of their research and to communicate the results of their research in forms accessible to the interested public. The conference is planned for 30 participants, including approximately 12 paper writers and an equal number of commentators. Papers will be pre-circulated. At the conference, each paper will be introduced by a commentator and discussed with the author in a 45-minute session. Proposals for 90-minute thematic panels involving two or three presenters are also welcome. The first session is scheduled for early afternoon on Thursday, March 31. This will be followed by a keynote address and public reception where research posters will be on display. Paper sessions continue Friday, April 1, with the posters discussed mid-day and a final session ending by 6:00 pm. Participants, including selected poster presenters, will be asked to revise their contributions for possible publication. Students and scholars from all nations and at all stages of their careers are encouraged to apply. Partial support for travel, accommodation, and meals for selected participants will be provided by CHF. Please send your paper or poster title, abstract of 250 words or less, and a 2-page c.v. to Professor James R. Fleming, STS Program, Colby College, Waterville, Maine 04358, USA, Email: jfleming(a)colby.edu at any time, but no later than the (slightly extended) deadline of Nov. 15, 2010.

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FW: Atsushi Akera wins 2010 Computer History Museum Prize
by Thomas Haigh 14 Oct '10

14 Oct '10

Heres an announcement covering one highlight of our recent annual meeting. More updates soon. Thanks to the prize committee and all who submitted their work. Tom Atsushi Akera, Calculating a Natural World: Scientists, Engineers, and Computers During the Rise of U.S. Cold War Research (MIT Press, 2007) SHOT SIGCIS this year awards its Computer History Museum Prize for an outstanding book on the history of computing to Atsushi Akera's Calculating a Natural World: Scientists, Engineers, and Computers During the Rise of U.S. Cold War Research (MIT Press 2007). This ambitious and theoretically-sophisticated study is both a history of mid-century computing and a history of an emerging infrastructure for Cold War research in the U.S. From wartime work on ENIAC, to the development of time-sharing at MIT and Michigan, to IBM's entry into technical computing, the impressively researched case studies in each chapter revisit well-known episodes in computing history as part of a much larger story. Akera's interest in the productive tensions that animated the work of the military-industrial-academic complex -- extending existing scholarship in this area -- undergirds a grounded theory of innovation that will shape future work in our field. We believe the book's treatment of core episodes in computing history as well as its "ecology of knowledge" perspective will find a wide audience. The Computer History Museum Prize is awarded to the author of an outstanding book in the history of computing broadly conceived, published during the prior three years. The prize of $1000 is awarded by SIGCIS, the Special Interest Group for Computers, Information and Society. It is established through the generosity of an anonymous donor who wishes to honor the Computer History Museum. SIGCIS is part of the Society for the History of Technology. 2010 Prize Committee Members Jennifer S. Light (Chair) Northwestern University Thomas J. Misa Charles Babbage Institute Pierre Mounier-Kuhn CNRS & Université Paris-Sorbonne

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Campaign builds to construct Babbage Analytical Engine
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 14 Oct '10

14 Oct '10

Might be of interest A UK campaign to build a truck-sized, prototype computer first envisaged in 1837 is gathering steam. See details here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11530905 Best Bernardo -- ================== Technological Innovation in Retail Finance: International Historical Perspectives Edited by Bernado Batiz-Lazo, J. Carles Maixé-Altés, Paul Thomes http://www.taylorandfrancis.com/books/details/9780415880671/

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CHM needs I-mode phone
by Evan Koblentz 14 Oct '10

14 Oct '10

The Computer History Museum (that's the big one in California, although I assume all SIGCIS members know this!) needs to borrow (or obtain) a first-gen I-mode cell phone. This is for a long-term exhibit on the history of portable computing. I'm involved in the project, so I offered to ask around, including on this list. However they need is * quickly *. If anybody has one they're willing to part with, or perhaps if anybody knows of someone with the phone in Japan, please email me off-list ASAP.

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] petroleum and computers
by Paul McJones 13 Oct '10

13 Oct '10

Consistent with David's Esso correspondent is this sentence by Garret Birkhoff in his article "Computer Developments 1935-1955, as Seen from Cambridge, U.S.A." (/A History of Computing in the Twentieth Century/, edited by Metropolis et al., Academic Press, 1980, p. 29): "I just want to make it clear that, by 1955, with the first commercial machines out, American industries, especially the nuclear industry but also the petroleum industry---which had been egged on by von Neumann: incidentally, he was an early consultant for the Standard Oil Development Company--- were using computers and American industry has relied on them ever since." On 9/14/2010 5:18 AM, David Alan Grier wrote: > I received emails from an Esso engineer, who noted that they took > delivery of the first Univac 1103 in '56 and had von Neumann as a > consultant.

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Computers & Oil exploration
by Ceruzzi, Paul 12 Oct '10

12 Oct '10

A somewhat belated response from Eric Weiss, who worked in the industry for many years. Good to hear from him, though. _____________________________ Dear Paul, I tried to reply at once but got caught up in all the wires. Please pass this on and tell me that you got it. Meanwhile Dick Canning died in July. Oil companies, and exploration and production departments in particular, are extremely secretive, so computer use to analyze bore holes and the flow of fluids underground went on at a great rate with few press releases. Airplane companies, on the other hand, are full of loud mouthed braggerts. Thus I think there is little published about our use of the Big IBM machines. I suggest a Google at the Oil and Gas Journal for the glory days. Yours, Eric ___________________________________ Paul E. Ceruzzi National Air & Space Museum MRC 311; PO Box 37012 Washington, DC 20013-7012 202-633-2414 <http://www.nasm.si.edu/staffDetail.cfm?staffID=24>

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Moore School Automatic Computer
by Evan Koblentz 08 Oct '10

08 Oct '10

Are any SIGCIS'rs knowledgeable about MSAC, the Moore School Automatic Computer? As I understand it, this was originally meant to be an EDVAC clone, and then it evolved into something new. Today I received a Moore School / Signal Corps "final report" stating that MSAC work ceased at approx. 85% completion in November 1953 because of a lack of funding. The report mentions how MSAC included some of NBS' newfound knowledge from SEAC. I know NBS' follow-up machine was DYSEAC, which was also built for the Signal Corps (White Sands Signal Agency), so perhaps that's why the MSAC funding ended. I'd like to hear other insights / opinions about this. (Unfortunately I am unable to be in Tacoma this month.)

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faculty hiring at all ranks
by Bill Aspray 07 Oct '10

07 Oct '10

The School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin is hiring tenure-track faculty at all ranks - several openings. There is a long tradition of interest in history in this school. People who are interested in history of information science (e.g. information retrieval) or in history of the book, archives, libraries, museums, or usability as well as history of computing would be a better fit than those interested only in the history of computers or its business manifestations. People with an interest in some other field of information studies as well as history would also be attractive candidates. See the ad at: http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/about/news/view_news_item.php?ID=305 Feel free to write directly to me if you have questions. Standards for hiring are quite high. -Bill

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