Hope this is of interest to SIGCIS folks. My continuing interest in “HAL” after 50 years.

Paul

Wednesday, May 16th, at 12:30 pm (1630 GMT)

Not ‘HAL’ from 2001: A Space Odyssey, but a Real Supercomputer Used by NASA

with Paul Ceruzzi

Tune in on Facebook.com/airandspace! 

Planning to attend in-person? Meet in the Space Hangar. 

Fifty years ago, the film 2001: a Space Odyssey featured a computer  “HAL,” that could converse with its human crew in plain English, and perform a number of intelligent tasks (at least until the final scenes!). In this Ask an Expert talk, curator Paul Ceruzzi discusses what real supercomputers of the 1960s looked like, and what they did (and did not do). He will describe NASM’s exhibit of a Control Data Corporation model 3800 computer, which was used by the Air Force to track and control satellites, and by NASA to solve complex aerodynamics equations. Paul will also give some details about the computer’s legendary designer, Seymour Cray, who is considered the “father” of supercomputers.