DOI Bookmark: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MAHC.2006.49
Carnegie Mellon University engaged in a major hardware design project serendipitously as an important step toward the founding of the Department of Computer Science. Alan Perlis, the first head of the department, needed a research facility adequate for attracting the faculty needed to attract the funding needed to build the research facility. He resolved the circular dilemma by engaging a graduate student to develop the hardware on the university computer site during the three years preceding the Center of Excellence ARPA grant to found the department. The system served its intended purpose for the founding of the department and for the following first years of its existence. This unusual story is told by that former graduate student. 1. The merger of Carnegie Institute of Technology with Mellon Institute, and the name change to Carnegie-Mellon University, took place in 1967. For simplicity, I use CMU interchangeably with CIT in this account, regardless of the date.
Index Terms:
CMU, computer science department, graphic display, multiprocessing, shared memory, RACE file, portable computer terminal, acoustic modem, remote batch, system design
Citation:
Jesse T. Quatse, "Anecdotes," IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 76-80, July-Sept. 2006, doi:10.1109/MAHC.2006.49 Usage of this product signifies your acceptance of the Terms of Use. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||