Hello Jeffrey, was the meeting recorded? If so, could you let us know the link? Thanks! Hernan. On Thu, Feb 12, 2026 at 4:19 PM Jeffrey Yost via Members < members@lists.sigcis.org> wrote:
Dear Colleagues,
The new Philadelphia Compuseum (honored to have just been added to the Advisory Board) is holding a 2 hour (online) conference event, and 4 hour (at the museum) festivities with reception, an ENIAC cake, etc. (the cake has candied vacuum tubes and all, but photos can hold up SIGCIS posts so you can see it at the Compuseum website if interested).
The online Program is 2-4pm Eastern on Sunday and is free, a Zoom meeting. It will have talks by a combination of some historians such as Kathy Kleiman, Paul Ceruzzi and me; some talks by the daughters, sons, and grandchildren of John Mauchly, J. Presper-Eckert, Jean Bartik.... such as John Mauchly and Kay McNulty's son Bill Mauchly.
The Compuseum is early in the formative stages without a location yet. It will be seeking a physical location in Philadelphia in the near future. The Compuseum is partnering with a large museum in the Philly Metro, the American Helicopter Museum, for the ENIAC Event. Hope to see some of you in person (I am going to Philly and will present in person) or online.
Best, Jeff
[Cut and pasted text from the Compuseum is below]
*80th Anniversary Celebration of ENIACAmerican Helicopter Museum, West Chester, PAFebruary 15th, 2026 (Sunday)*
*Sign Up Here:https://www.helicoptermuseum.org/event-details/eniac-day-celebration <https://www.helicoptermuseum.org/event-details/eniac-day-celebration> (online attendance is FREE)$20 per person for Museum Entry. Zoom attendees no charge, Registration Required.*
The year 2026 marks 80 years since the public unveiling of ENIAC on February 15, 1946, a moment widely recognized as the birth of the modern computer age. ENIAC — the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer — was the world’s first all‑electronic, programmable, general‑purpose computer, and its debut fundamentally reshaped science, engineering, and society.
🖥️ Why ENIAC Was Revolutionary ENIAC was developed at the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electrical Engineering by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert. It was originally designed to compute complex ballistic trajectories for the U.S. Army during World War II — calculations that previously took human mathematicians days or weeks. Key breakthroughs included: • Fully electronic operation using vacuum tubes • Programmability (though rewiring was required) • Massive speed improvements over mechanical calculators • A design that inspired generations of computer architectures Many historians consider ENIAC one of the greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century.
🗓️ How the 80th Anniversary Is Being Celebrated Several organizations and communities are marking the anniversary with events, exhibitions, and educational programs: World Computer Day 2026 The global theme for 2026 is “ENIAC 80th Anniversary: The Computer That Changed the World.” Events highlight: • ENIAC’s global impact • The stories of its founders and their families • How wartime innovation shaped modern computing Local Celebrations in Pennsylvania Given ENIAC’s Philadelphia roots, regional institutions are especially active. For example, a museum in West Chester, PA is hosting exhibits commemorating the unveiling and exploring ENIAC’s legacy in the digital age. ENIAC Day – February 15 Each year, ENIAC Day raises awareness of the machine’s contributions and honors the people who built and operated it. The 80th anniversary gives this annual celebration special significance.
🧭 Why This Anniversary Matters Today The ENIAC anniversary isn’t just nostalgia — it’s a reminder of how quickly computing has evolved. In 1946, ENIAC filled a room and consumed massive amounts of power. Today, your phone outperforms it by orders of magnitude.iAC But the conceptual leap ENIAC represented — that machines could be fully electronic, programmable, and general‑purpose — is the foundation of everything from laptops to AI.
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If you are interested in celebrating with us, sign up below...
Starting at museum open at 1PM (EST). Video Presentation runs two hours from 2PM-4PM (EST) in the museum Auditorium, Afterwards is 1 hour duration "meet and greet". Museum closes at 5PM (EST). This is also a virtual/online/hybrid event on the Zoom Platform. Invitations via Helicopter Museum and Compuseum
Sign Up Here: https://www.helicoptermuseum.org/event-details/eniac-day-celebration (online attendance is FREE)
$20 per person for Museum Entry. Zoom attendees no charge, Registration Required.
Event Title: ENIAC Founders, Families and Futures - 80 Years On
*Presentation on Zoom and in Auditorium*
Kickoff By:
Paul Kahan (CEO- Helicopter Museum) 2 minutes Jim Scherrer (CEO- Compuseum) 2 minutes
Keynote - Kathy Kleiman - "The Incredible People of the ENIAC Team: Why We Still Celebrate Them 80 Years Later." A Deep Dive Into Proving Ground People by Author- "Proving Grounds; The Untold Story of the Six Women Who Programmed the World's First Modern Computer." Purchase Book here: https://a.co/d/0eu2p78z (Confirmed - In person)
Brian Stuart - "The ENIAC in Context" A deep technical dive into how the master programmer makes the ENIAC satisfy the criteria necessary for universality in the Turing sense and to clarify the relationship between Turing's work and that of Mauchly and Eckert. (Confirmed - In Person)
Paul Ceruzzi - "Perspective on ENIAC, 80 years On" Author "A New History of Modern Computing" book along with Tom Haigh. (Confirmed Virtual)
Tom Burick - "How Today's High School Students built a full sized replica of ENIAC, from scratch!" IT Instructor, PS Academy, Arizona. Also, presentation by student leader Ethan Myers. (Confirmed, In Person)
Bill Mauchly - "Giant Brain Takes Over the World" the story we can never let go of. Bill is from First Family of Computing - Son of John Mauchly and Kathleen "Kay" McNulty Mauchly (Confirmed, In Person)
Chris Eckert - "Recollections of My Dad" First Family of Computing - Son of J. Presper Eckert (Confirmed, Virtual)
Gini Mauchly - "What Kay McNulty would Tell you about How to Be Successful." First Family of Computing - Daughter of John Mauchly and Kathleen "Kay" McNulty Mauchly (Confirmed, In Person)
Naomi Most - "Did my IT career result from my DNA" Granddaughter of Kay McNulty (Confirmed, Virtual)
Dr. Tim Bartik - "Recollections of My Mother". Son of Jean Jennings Bartik, 1st ENIAC Programmer (Confirmed, Virtual)
Jeffrey Yost - "The ENIAC's Unveiling: Shaping Metaphors and Meanings in Computing" Director, Charles Babbage Institute for Computing, Information & Culture (Confirmed, In Person)
Paul Shaffer - "How the ENIAC made Quadrotor Drones Possible; From Vacuum Tubes to Vertical Flight" ENIAC Historian at PENN- (Confirmed, In Person)
Kenneth Chaney "See PENN's Supercomputer" with Associate Director of AI and Technology for PARCC - Visitors will see the Betty Holberton supercomputer at PENN (named after Betty Holberton, ENIAC programmer) https://parcc.upenn.edu/systems/betty/ (Confirmed, On Site)
Q&A Session - 10 Minutes - Audience asks Questions directed to speakers. Moderated by Jim Scherrer and Kathy Kleiman
Show & Tell - See quadcopter, ENIAC 3D models and members can show off their ENIAC equipment or memorabilia.
Wrap Up Thank you from - Jim Scherrer (Compuseum); Paul Kahan (Helicopter Museum)
Group Photo in front of the Auditorium.
1 hour "ENIAC Cake" party at the museum (4-5PM) then after-party. ** * * * * ** *Jeffrey Yost, Ph.D. * *Director, Charles Babbage Institute for Computing, Information & Culture* *Research Professor, History of Sci., Tech., Med., University of Minnesota*
*Just Code: Power, Inequality and the Political Economy of IT (Johns Hopkins U. Press, co-edited w/ Gerardo Con Diaz) <https://press.jhu.edu/books/title/12804/just-code> * *Making IT Work: A History of the Computer Services Industry (MIT Press) <https://amzn.to/3gqe4R6>* *Studies in Computing and Culture book series, Johns Hopkins U. Press <https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/series/studies-computing-and-culture> *Co-Editor (w/ Con Diaz) *PI, NSF-funded CBI project "Mining a Useable Past: Perspectives, Paradoxes, and Possibilities with Security and Privacy."* *Blockchain & Society* <https://www.blockchainandsociety.com>* (crit. inq. essays & resources)* (Founder/Leader)
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