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Computer History Lecture Series
"Doing Computer History in Internet Time"
Paul Ceruzzi
Curator of Aerospace Electronics and Computing
National Air and Space Museum
Smithsonian Institution
Tuesday, February 16, 1999, 5:30 p.m.
Main Auditorium, Building N-201
NASA Ames Research Center
Mountain View, CA 94035
Historians like to let things settle a bit before doing history, but how is that
possible when the subject of historical inquiry is computing, which seems to
re-invent and redefine itself every few months? The author, a curator in the
Space History Department of the National Air and Space Museum, will describe his
recent attempt to write a comprehensive history of computing, from the
dedication of the ENIAC in 1946 to the commercialization of the World Wide Web.
When he began writing, the World Wide Web had not even been invented, yet by the
time he submitted a manuscript to the publisher, Microsoft announced Internet
Explorer 4.0!
Ceruzzi believes that one can now take a look back and tell a coherent story
about computing in the last fifty years, even if tomorrow's headlines threaten
to turn it all into a preface to the 'real' story. Ceruzzi's work at the
Smithsonian includes research, writing, planning exhibits, collecting artifacts,
and lecturing on the subjects of microelectronics, computing, and control as
they apply to the practice of air and space flight.
Ceruzzi is a graduate of Yale University and has a PhD in American Studies from
the University of Kansas. He has been a Fullbright Scholar, the recipient of a
Charles Babbage Institute Research Fellowship, and a faculty member at Clemson
University in South Carolina. He is the author or co-author of several books on
the history of computing and related issues:
Reckoners: The Prehistory of The Digital Computer (1983);
Beyond the Limits: Flight Enters the Computer Age (1989);
Smithsonian Landmarks in the History of Digital Computing (1994, with Peggy Kidwell);
A History of Modern Computing (1998).
Copies of A
History of Modern Computing and Beyond
the Limits
will be available at the talk for author signature and purchase.
NOTE: DUE TO RECENT SECURITY CHANGES, YOU WILL NOT BE ADMITTED TO THIS
TALK WITHOUT ADVANCE CONFIRMATION BY FEBRUARY 12.
Confirmation Procedure:
You must confirm by February 12. Confirm by e-mailing chc@tcm.org
or by calling Ellen Lee at 650.604.2579 and be sure to state
your name, telephone number, and country of citizenship.
- if you are a US citizen, please state so, and bring a driver's
license for photo ID.
- if you are not a US citizen, but have a green card, state
your country of citizenship, and bring the green card.
- if you are not a US citizen, and do not have a green card,
please e-mail chc@tcm.org with
your name, country of origin, and citizenship, to get confirmation.
If you are confirmed, you will need to bring your passport.
Citizens (without a green card) of China, India, Israel, South
Africa and Taiwan require special processing for admittance
to Moffett Field, and will not be able to attend this talk.
Directions:
From Highway 101
in Mountain View, take the Moffett Field exit (ignore any
exits for Moffett Blvd.or Moffett Field South Gate). At the
Moffett Field main gate, go to the Visitor Badging office
on the right side of the gate and pick up your reserved badge.
The lecture is in Building N-201. A map is available by visiting
the website (URL below) or by fax by calling Ellen Lee at
650.604.2579.
For a map of NASA Ames, including directions to Building N-201, the NASA Ames
Main Auditorium, click here.
To join our Computer History Lecture announcement list, send e-mail to:
chc@tcm.org.
For Donation Guidelines:
click here.
History of Computing timeline:
http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/
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