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I retired in 1991 having started at the Lab on 16 April, 1953, but continued there, working on projects aimed at recording memories of those who were involved with the beginnings of Computing at the Lab and with saving stuff worthy of being put into some sort of a museum dedicated to computing around the San Francisco bay area. Both projects have been superbly difficult although they are making progress.. Getting the museum started has been very difficult; so much needs to be done. The interviews are somewhat easier, but shot through with all sorts of schedule conflicts and certain administrative problems. Even so, we continue to make progress. We are at the point where some of the interviews ought to be shared among the computing fraternity - especially those who were involved "from the beginning."
There is one additional disclaimer: my memory is not so good that everyone who should have been remembered, was; and the same is true for events and chronology. Forgive me please, but more to the point, correct me.
This page will contain interviews of some of those who were involved somehow, with the formation, and development of the Computation Department at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory during the years 1950 to 1975, and for the sake of continuity, often covering events beyond 1975. Many consider these years the Golden years within computing, and definitely at the Lab. During this time, Computation within the Lab was a recognized throughout the world as an innovator and pioneer in applying computers to large problems. We seemed to be given enough money to get things done, and challenges such as they were, didn't daunt the staff, although cynics do argue that the Lab was a spoiled rich kid.: "Anybody else with that much money would have done as well, or better. "
As far as I'm concerned, the right response to this is, "History doesn't record its alternatives."
I can say with a great amount of certainty that we had three factors on our side that most other places lacked: we had the money,. we had good people and, we had REAL applications. Thus none of our work needed to be validated by publishing a thesis or computing a Fibonacci number
I do not want to leave the impression that everything was perfect, or that we always enjoyed a unanimity among the staff. But there was a heady atmosphere of cooperation and free inquiry. For lots of the staff, working at the Lab was the best intellectual high they'd ever experienced
As far as I'm concerned, a history such as this one, is really a history of individuals. Names and places appear rather freely throughout the interviews. Eventually I will also provide as completely as possible, a kind of `cast of characters.'
I've organized this set of `War Stories' into four general categories:
1. Computing Systems (Software and Hardware) 2. Applications Programming 3. General Administrative activity 4. I/O especially Networking, Storage and GraphicsAs you will see, litanies of hardware makes a good structure on which other things can be tied. Here is a short chronology (accurate to the best of my knowledge) related to computer acquisitions between 1950 and 1978 that should help place the interviews in a useful context: Computer procurements after that time will be covered later in a separate attachment.
As additional or better data comes available, we'll update these pages. Explicitly, I would appreciate any comments you care to make. Direct them to
George Michael, L-300
gam@llnl.gov
Lawrence Livermore National Lab.
Livermore, CA 94550
or
Jerry Owens, L-060
jlowens@llnl.gov
Lawrence Livermore National Lab.
Livermore, CA 94550
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