Artifact Details

Title

Revealing Lost Woman of Science Klári Dán von Neumann

Catalog Number

102792677

Type

Moving image

Description

Digging in archives can reveal fascinating stories. One of them is the case of Klári Dán von Neumann, a truly lost woman of computing.

Unrecognized during her lifetime for her remarkable achievements, Hungarian-born Klári was involved in the Monte Carlo simulations of atomic and thermonuclear explosions immediately after World War II.

Like other women in STEM at the time, Klári worked in the shadow of a brilliant husband, John von Neumann, and experienced the shift away from female programmers as the profession gained prominence.

It’s time to tell her story.

WHAT YOU’LL DISCOVER
-Newly uncovered information about Klári.
-The “spouse” phenomenon at Los Alamos.
-The intersection of war and computing and the evolution of the ENIAC computer.
-The implications of Klari’s story for us today.

Join us for an intriguing discussion with computer historian Thomas Haigh and journalist and Lost Women of Science host Katie Hafner moderated by computer scientist and Harvey Mudd College president Maria Klawe.

Date

2022-04-05

Participants

Hafner, Katie, Speaker
Haigh, Thomas, Speaker
Klawe, Maria, Speaker

Publisher

Computer History Museum

Place of Publication

Mountain View, CA

Duration

01:14:36

Format

MOV

Category

Talk

Collection Title

CHM Live

Credit

Computer History Museum

Lot Number

2022.0065