The History of Computing at Cornell University By John W. Rudan Director Emeritus, Cornell Information Technologies Cornell University Cornell University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity educator and employer. Produced by Communication and Marketing Services at Cornell University ©2005 The History of Computing at Cornell University By John W. Rudan Director Emeritus, Cornell Information Technologies Cornell University Edited and designed by Cornell Communication and Marketing Services Published by The Internet-First University Press This manuscript is among the initial offerings being published as part of a new approach to scholarly publishing. The manuscript is freely available from the Internet-First University Press repository within DSpace at Cornell University at http://dspace.library.cornell.edu/handle/1813/62 The online version of this work is available on an open access basis, without fees or restrictions on personal use. A professionally printed and bound version may be purchased through Cornell Business Services by contacting: [email protected] All mass reproduction, even for educational or not-for-profit use, requires permission and license. For more information, please contact [email protected]. We will provide a downloadable version of this document from the Internet-First University Press. Ithaca, N.Y. June 2005 The History of Computing at Cornell University By John W. Rudan Director Emeritus, Cornell Information Technologies Cornell University Introduction Cornell, which has focused on campuswide computing and supporting technologies. However, the organiza- I was encouraged to compile the story of how com- tions that were closely allied with the central organiza- puting started, evolved, and grew at Cornell. My tion in staff or in computers or other technology are first association with computing at Cornell was in considered part of the story. the spring of 1959, just six years after the first digital This history is organized by decades, that is the computer was installed on the campus. This associa- 1950s, 1960s, etc., except for the pre-1950 period, tion continued until 1996, except for about six years which is given special treatment as it documents as when I held different positions or undertook further much as could be found about what took place at studies. Over the decades I accumulated over 50 boxes Cornell for the years up to 1949. The first section and of records, pictures, and other memorabilia related to succeeding decades begin with an overview of the computing at Cornell. As I approached retirement, most important developments in computing/infor- documenting this history seemed like a great project, mation technology (IT) during that decade. This letting me preserve information that might otherwise overview is intended to provide some insights into be lost while also staying connected with computing the evolution and status of computing/IT in general, technologists and former associates. as well as what was happening (or not happening) at This history draws on not only the Computing at Cornell. Each overview will also define some relevant Cornell archive that I have assembled but also articles acronyms or buzz words from that decade. in the Cornell Chronicle, published reports including The collection of an oral computing history started annual reports from different organizations, and reports partway through writing this story when sources were and other documents. Personal communications with sketchy and incomplete and I knew of the key per- individuals who participated in many of the events son or persons who were involved with the particular documented were often obtained using e-mail, but the issue. Other individuals who were aware of the project recorded personal stories were invaluable in providing wrote their own stories and sent them to me. I have facts and anecdotes worth mentioning. now accumulated a large number of these personal It was easy to write about computing at Cornell up stories and recollections about each person’s experi- to 1969, when there were no more than a half dozen ence during their career at Cornell. The names of all digital computers on campus. By the end of the 1970s, those individuals who provided information this way a decade later, there were several hundred comput- are listed in the Acknowledgments. I thank them ers on campus, and in another decade perhaps several all not only for the factual information and publica- thousand local area network servers and personal tions they provided but also for the very interest- workstations. With the explosion in the number of ing personal comments about incidents, some of computers on campus came an explosion in the num- which are included in the endnotes of the relevant ber of organizational entities that were formed to sup- decade. Readers are encouraged to go to the Cornell port them. Since it was impossible to document all Information Technologies (CIT) web site, www.cit. these entities thoroughly, this history focuses on the cornell.edu/computer/history/, for access to most of “computing center,” the central computing agency at these documents. 1 Giving witness to the fact that counting, enumerat- I hope that these remembrances will be of ing, and calculating (computing) have been important interest to Cornellians, past and present to Cornell for a very long time, Walter T. Federer, (and others as well), and that my memory Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor Emeritus and early sup- has not admitted of too many errors or porter and user of computing at Cornell, makes the omissions. These early years were ones of following statement:1 trial, error, discovery, challenge, and ful- Professor Harry H. Love kept pace with fillment, and the problems we faced and computing in the twenties and thir- solved (with limited tools) would be incom- ties. He purchased a computer called a prehensible to those who practice comput- Millionaire, supposedly hot stuff for the ing today. time. I believe that it is stored somewhere in Plant Breeding. A display of all the old Acknowledgments machines would be illuminating to the stu- dents of today. When I arrived in 1948, Dr. I would like to thank both H. David Lambert, vice Love had made certain that we had many president of information technology at the university Monroe, Friden, and Marchant calcula- (1995 to 1997), for offering his strong support and tors around. There were rooms of these encouragement to start this project, and Polley A. machines with one being in Warren Hall McClure, vice president of information technology (1999 on), for continuing this support. I also thank under the dictatorship of Onnie Zaharis. Professor J. Robert Cooke for his support to publish The means to accomplish all this storage, processing, this history in the Internet First University Press (D- and analysis of information continually improved. The Space at Cornell University). punch card technology came to Cornell in the 1920s I also wish to acknowledge the continuing and valu- and improved the ability of researchers to count and able help of Shayle R. Searle, whose generous com- calculate and summarize the results of experiments ments and encouragement kept me forging ahead. and other observed data. Until the 1960s laboratories Special thanks go to Richard C. Lesser, Dominic of tabletop calculators were all over campus where Bordonaro, and Lydell Wadell. Lesser wrote about the numerical calculations formed the basis for problem formation and early years of the Cornell Computing exercises and examinations in class work. Engineering Center along with important pictures and docu- and the disciplines which relied on statistical analyses ments. In addition to contributing to the Oral History, were key in this regard. I shall try to pursue some of Bordonaro provided written commentary and docu- the important early developments, but this history will mentation about Machine Records, the first business focus more on the “digital” computer technology and systems unit at the university. Wadell provided the how it grew and developed. history of the Northeast Dairy Records Processing To put in perspective the profound changes that Center, which supplemented other historical informa- have occurred in the almost 50 years since comput- tion about one of the first computer installations on ing got its start at Cornell, it is only necessary to give campus. All these documents, along with other rel- a few examples. In 1953 there was one computer on evant documentation, can be found on the CIT web campus; 50 years later there are possibly as many as site. 30,000 computers during the school year when the stu- The following individuals contributed oral histories dents are on campus. Not only that, but each of these or their personal stories and other materials that were current computers has several orders of magnitude of importance to compiling this manuscript. I thank more “power” than that first computer and those of them for all their contributions: Dan Argetsinger; the early years. For example, the IBM 650 on campus Mark H. Anbinder, Ralph Barnard; Dominic in 1956 was rated at 0.001 MIPS (million of instruc- Bordonaro; Scott W. Brim; G. V. Chester; Richard C. tions per second), while the first Apple Macintoshes Cogger; Richard W. Conway; J. Robert Cooke; Dale in 1984 using a Motorola 68000 chip were rated at 2 R. Corson; Cecilia Cowles; Cathy Dove; James F. MIPS. In the early 1990s, when the IBM or IBM com- Doolittle; Tom A. Dimock; Agelia Dumas; Charles V. patible microcomputers were introduced on campus using Intel Pentium chips, the systems were rated at over 100 MIPS! 1 Federer, Walter T., “Walter T. Federer’s Recollections, 1948 to Richard C. Lesser, first director of the Cornell present,” History of Computing at Cornell, www.cit.cornell.edu/ Computing Center, provides an appropriate closing computer/history/, 2002. comment, which expresses my views as well:2 2 Richard C. Lesser, Richard C. “Richard C. Lesser’s Recollections, 1953 to 1964, History of Computing at Cornell, www.cit.cornell.