Between Discipline and Profession A History of Persistent Instability in the Field of Computer Engineering, circa 1951-2006 by Brent K. Jesiek Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Science and Technology Studies Gary L. Downey (Chair) Janet Abbate Daniel Breslau Timothy W. Luke Michael S. Mahoney (Princeton University) December 13, 2006 Blacksburg, VA Keywords: history, computer, computing, design, technology, engineers, engineering, engineering studies, discipline, profession, instability Copyright 2006, Brent K. Jesiek Between Discipline and Profession A History of Persistent Instability in the Field of Computer Engineering, circa 1951-2006 by Brent K. Jesiek Abstract This dissertation uses a historical approach to study the origins and trajectory of computer engineering as a domain of disciplinary and professional activity in the United States context. Expanding on the general question of “what is computer engineering?,” this project investigates what counts as computer engineering knowledge and practice, what it means to be a computer engineer, and how these things have varied by time, location, actor, and group. This account also pays close attention to the creation and maintenance of the “sociotechnical” boundaries that have historically separated computer engineering from adjacent fields such as electrical engineering and computer science. In addition to the academic sphere, I look at industry and professional societies as key sites where this field originated and developed. The evidence for my analysis is largely drawn from journal articles, conference proceedings, trade magazines, and curriculum reports, supplemented by other primary and secondary sources. The body of my account has two major parts. Chapters 2 through 4 examine the pre- history and early history of computer engineering, especially from the 1940s to early 1960s. These chapters document how the field gained a partially distinct professional identity, largely in the context of industry and through professional society activities. Chapters 5 through 7 turn to a historical period running from roughly the mid 1960s to early 1990s. Here I document the establishment and negotiation of a distinct disciplinary identity and partially unique “sociotechnical settlement” for computer engineering. Professional societies and the academic context figure prominently in these chapters. This part of the dissertation also brings into relief a key argument, namely that computer engineering has historically occupied a position of “persistent instability” between the engineering profession, on the one hand, and independent disciplines such as computer science, on the other. In an Epilogue I review some more recent developments in the educational arena to highlight continued instabilities in the disciplinary landscape of computing, as well as renewed calls for the establishment of a distinct disciplinary and professional identity for the field of computer engineering. I also highlight important countervailing trends by briefly reviewing the history of the software/hardware codesign movement. Acknowledgments First and foremost, I thank my family for their encouragement and understanding as I worked on this project, as well as my graduate degrees more generally. In fact, this dissertation may have never been completed without the extensive support – and gentle prodding – provided by my wife Julie and son Preston. Thanks also to my parents for their continued encouragement in all of my endeavors, no matter how seemingly far-flung. I owe another debt of gratitude to my many friends and colleagues at Virginia Tech – for the most part, you know who you are. But I especially want to thank Jody Roberts for many conversations that helped enrich this document. I also acknowledge Shelli Fowler, who not only greatly encouraged and supported me as a graduate student, but who is also an all-around exemplary colleague and mentor. Following her model, I fully intend to pay the favor forward. Members of Virginia Tech’s Research in Engineering Studies (RES) group, on the other hand, deserve mention for being willing and thoughtful commentators on an early draft of Chapter 2. I am of course much indebted to each and every one of my committee members, who from the start saw the value and potential of this project, and helped nurture it along the way. Their willingness to thoughtfully engage with a large body of draft material and provide countless valuable suggestions made this a much better document. I very much look forward to continuing our conversation about this material in coming months and years. Gary Downey, in particular, has been an outstanding committee member and chair throughout this process, and I thank him for both keeping me on schedule and pushing me to figure out where my analysis was headed. At countless points along the way, Gary helped me see the proverbial forest for the trees when I found myself neck-deep in historical details. There are still others worthy of mention, including the many library staffers who retrieved or tracked down sources for me. Staff at the Charles Babbage Institute, National Academies, and IEEE History Center also deserve mention for responding to many queries and for finding and sending me relevant materials. Again, I thank you all. iv Table of Contents ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................. II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. IV LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ................................................................................................ VIII CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 Research Questions and Objectives................................................................................................................................ 4 Historical Literature Review........................................................................................................................................... 5 Theoretical Literature Review ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Methodology .................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Professional Publications ......................................................................................................................................... 15 Trade Magazines....................................................................................................................................................... 16 Curriculum and Model Program Reports................................................................................................................ 16 Other Sources............................................................................................................................................................ 17 Summary of Chapter Contents...................................................................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER 2 – FROM ENGINEERS AND COMPUTING TO COMPUTER ENGINEERING ..............22 A Brief Early History of Electrical Engineering and Its Institutes............................................................................. 23 Intersections of Expertise in Early Computer Development Projects........................................................................ 27 Connecting the Islands: Early Steps toward a Field of Computing............................................................................ 34 Mauchly, the ENIAC, and the Machine-Instruction Boundary.................................................................................. 37 The AIEE and Computing............................................................................................................................................. 41 The IRE and Computing: From Technical Committee to Professional Group.......................................................... 46 The Joint Computer Conferences ................................................................................................................................. 50 Positioning Computers in Engineering......................................................................................................................... 52 Computer Engineering Identities.................................................................................................................................. 55 Employing Computer Designers and Engineers.......................................................................................................... 58 The Relational Ontology of Computer Engineering.................................................................................................... 60 Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................................... 65 CHAPTER 3 – A SYSTEM OF PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES: NEGOTIATING THE SOCIOTECHNICAL SETTLEMENTS .............................................................................................67