History Research 2019; 7(1): 1-6 http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/history doi: 10.11648/j.history.20190701.11 ISSN: 2376-6700 (Print); ISSN: 2376-6719 (Online) Seymour Cray: The Father of World Supercomputer Si Hongwei Department of the History of Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China Email address: To cite this article: Si Hongwei. Seymour Cray: The Father of World Supercomputer. History Research. Vol. 7, No. 1, 2019, pp. 1-6. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20190701.11 Received : May 14, 2019; Accepted : June 13, 2019; Published : June 26, 2019 Abstract: Seymour R. Cray was an American engineer and supercomputer developer who designed a series of the fastest computers in the world in 1960-1980s. The difference between Cray and most other corporate engineers is that he often won those business battles. His success was attributable to his existence in a postwar culture where engineers were valued. He was able to also part of an extraordinary industry where revolutionary developments were encouraged, and even necessary. Lastly Cray is recognized as "the father of world supercomputer". From the perspective of science and technology history, this paper describes the history of Cray and his development of supercomputer. It also sums up his innovative ideas and scientific spirit. It provides a reference for supercomputer enthusiasts and peers in the history of computer research. Keywords: Seymour R. Cray, Supercomputer, Science and Technology History 1. Introduction 2. The Genius Seymour Supercomputer refers to the most advanced electronic computer system with the most advanced technology, the Seymour Cray was born on September 28th, 1925 in the fastest computing speed, the largest storage capacity and the town of Chippewa, Wisconsin. As the same name as Seymour highest level of science and engineering under the current R. Cray, his father graduated from the University of production process conditions. Supercomputers are usually Minnesota and worked as an engineer at northern States. At composed of multiple or even hundreds of CPU, with huge that time, the local power supply was mainly from numerical computing power and data processing capabilities, hydro-power. The Chippewa River flows through Wisconsin and can calculate large and complex problems that ordinary and Minnesota and merges into the Mississippi River to the personal computers and servers cannot accomplish. south. Northern State Power Company built some dams on the Supercomputers are widely used in the most advanced fields river to get the most electricity. The elder Cray was sent to of science and technology, industry, military, etc. The Wisconsin in order to service the dam and determine development capability of supercomputers has become one of engineering problems such as storage. He loved the job very the most important indicators for measuring the much and accomplished his mission brilliantly. Being comprehensive national strength and technological level of a appointed by local officials as an engineer, Cray stayed in the country. The world who first proposed the concept of town and continued his work in order to raise a family. supercomputer has been unable to verify, but in the true sense, The elder Cray was a smart, tough, disciplinarian who’d the first person to develop a supercomputer-defined product is brought up his two children as mirror images of himself. Seymour Roger Cray (1925-1996), who developed Cray Father's obsession with technology and the pursuit of supercomputers. For the representative of the "Cray" series of perfection had a big influence on the young Seymour, which the world's fastest supercomputer, leading the international made him fascinated by electronics from an early age. supercomputer development trend for decades, he is Captivated by technology, he found an avenue for expression indisputably known as the "father of the world in photography at age ten. He built a darkroom in the supercomputer."[1] basement, snapped photos in the yard, and developed them himself. While still in elementary school, he even rigged a Morse Code connection between his bedroom and his sister's 2 Si Hongwei: Seymour Cray: The Father of World Supercomputer so that they could communicate after lights out. His father became the later well-known product UNIVAC. He spent a lot became aware of the late night clicking and told Seymour to of time reading books in the library to study how the computer shut down the system because it was bothering the rest of the works. He also had the opportunity to participate in ERA's household. Seymour's solution was to convert the clickers to academic activities and listen to Neumann's speech. However, lights and to continue to communicate with his sister. As an he soon discovered that he did not have much reference amateur of electrical equipment, he often spent a lot of time in material for researching computers. So, he wanted to practice the electrical laboratory of his high school, delving into radio, and innovate himself. In order to avoid entertainment and electric motors and electrical circuits. His served as electrician make work undisturbed, Cray often worked at night, which for the junior prom and in physics class acted as substitute became his lifelong habit. In the study, Cray paid great teacher when the regular one called in sick. According to the attention to collecting all aspects of information and learning yearbook of the Chippewa Falls High School, the Monocle, a from other computer designers. classmate wrote: "As science is becoming more and more In this small company, Cray designed his first important each year, many students are needed in this field. computer——ERA 1103——one of the earliest machines Seymour Cray has received the science award. He has been using magnetic core memory. The system used electrostatic very much interested in this work through high school days. If storage, consisting of 36 Williams tubes with a capacity of anyone were to predict his future, I dare say it would be along 1024 bits each, giving a total random access memory of 1024 the science line."[2] words of 36 bits each. Each of the 36 Williams tubes was five In 1943, during the Second World War, Cray joined the US inches in diameter. A magnetic drum memory provided 16,384 Army after graduation and served as a radio operator for words. Fixed-point numbers had a 1-bit sign and a 35-bit value, communications. After a short European mission, he was sent with negative values represented in ones' complement format. to the Philippines, where he operated his radio equipment Instructions had a 6-bit operation code and two 15-bit operand from a cave in a remote area. At the same time, electronic addresses. [3] computers were developed under the military needs of World 2-3 years later, ERA was acquired by Remington Rand. War II. At that time, the US military needed a Then, Sperry Corporation merged with it. Soon it was high-performance tool to calculate the timely and accurate followed by Burroughs, and later by Unisys. Cray’s work was ballistic firepower meter. In this context, the world's first not affected. However, when the company's executives shifted computer——ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And their focus to commercial small computers, Cray took his Computer) in 1946 was successfully constructed and operated A-big-one dream of leaving the company. He and his friend at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering, University of Bill Norris and others created the CDC (Control Data Pennsylvania, USA. The inventor was a research team led by Corporation) in 1957. Mauchly and Eckert. The famous scientist John von Neumann At CDC, Cray was a technical expert and a vice-chairman was also added. Cray, who was about to being discharged from of the company. His goal was to develop a first-rate scientific the service, didn’t know that he would be associated with this computer which was faster than any computer at that time. He invention that had changed his life in the future. persuaded other top executives and took out his own $5,000 to In 1947, Cray married Verene, his wife, was the daughter of buy the company's stock during financial difficulties. As a a Methodist minister. Soon they went to study at the result, CDC and Cray began building large scientific University of Wisconsin. A year later, they moved to the computers. They quickly took the market away from ERA and University of Minnesota for a better engineer program. At the earned $600,000. university where his father had studied, Cray earned a When CDC expanded, Cray found that the staff was bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a master's divergent. He moved out of the city and returned to the town degree in applied mathematics during 1950-1951. When he of Chippewa, where he built a warehouse to develop 1604 graduated, Cray was quite awkward. He often walked around computer for CDC. It was Cray’s first project——building a on campus and asked himself: "What should I do next?" large computer as quickly as possible at the lowest price. At Fortunately, like his father, he’d found his first job through a that time, the transistor was still a new electronic device, but lead from an admiring professor: He had been strolling across Cray decided to use it to build CDC 1604. He found that the the campus when a professor had leaned out a window and transistors sold at local retail stores in Minneapolis had called him: "If I were you, I would not stay in the market, but defective products, which were much cheaper than buying go to ERA (Engineering Research Associates), which is a them from the factory. He bought all the transistors needed.