Dear Colleagues,

Please join us for what is now the 3rd in our annual Tomash Fellow virtual lectures, where the current Tomash Fellow presents from their dissertation research. Our current, 2022-2023 academic year Tomash Fellow Sam Schirvar, ABD from Penn's History and Sociology of Science, will present on his important and insightful research on the social (African American and Native American) history of Control Data Corporation, its programs and manufacturing. Information and the link to register is below. It is 3pm Central on April 4th. Again, I hope you will join us on April 4th for this engaging lecture!

Best, Jeff

A CBI Tomash (Virtual) Lecture on Control Data's late 20th century ventures

Join CBI on Tuesday, April 4 at 3 p.m. CST as our 2022-2023 Tomash Fellow Sam Schirvar, University of Pennsylvania, History and Sociology of Science ABD presents his paper "Following the Computer Industry through the State."

This virtual event is free and open to the public but registration is required.

Brief Abstract: William C. Norris, founder and CEO of Control Data Corporation, was notorious in the business world. From assembly plants in the so-called "inner city," to a mobile health clinic on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, to computer programming and assembly at the Minnesota State Prison in Stillwater—many of Control Data's ventures in the late twentieth century appeared to be unconventional. While the business community alleged that these programs were a distraction that hurt Control Data's bottom line, Norris insisted that the supercomputer firm could do good — and make a profit. Read the full abstract.

About the Tomash Fellowship
Each year the Adelle and Erwin Tomash Graduate Fellowship is awarded to a standout ABD graduate student for doctoral dissertation research in the History of Computing, Information, and Culture.

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