Wallace John Eckert
Encyclopedia
Wallace John Eckert was an American astronomer
, who directed the Thomas J. Watson Astronomical Computing Bureau at Columbia University
which evolved into the research division of IBM
.
. He was not related to another computer pioneer of the time, J. Presper Eckert
(1919–1995). He graduated from Oberlin College
in 1925, and earned an MA from Amherst College
in 1931.
He started teaching at Columbia University
in 1926, and earned his PhD from Yale
in 1931 in astronomy
under Professor Ernest William Brown
(1866–1938).
tabulating machines from IBM
located in Columbia's Rutherford Laboratory to perform more than simple statistical calculations. Eckert arranged with IBM president Thomas J. Watson
for a donation of newly developed IBM 601 calculating punch, which could multiply instead of just adding and subtracting.
In 1937 the facility was named the Thomas J. Watson Astronomical Computing Bureau.
IBM support included customer service and hardware circuit modifications needed to tabulate numbers, create mathematical tables, add, subtract, multiply, reproduce, verify, create tables of differences, create tables of logarithms and perform Lagrangian interpolation, all to solve differential equations for astronomical applications.
In January 1940, Eckert published Punched Card Methods in Scientific Computation, which solved the problem of predicting the orbit
s of the planet
s, using the IBM electric tabulating machines, based on the punched card. This slim book is only 136 pages, including the index.
had broken out in Europe (but the US was not officially involved). Eckert became director of the United States Naval Observatory
in Washington, DC. The increased demand for navigation tables prompted him to automate the process, using punched card equipment. The 1941 almanac was the first to be produced using automated equipment, down to the final typesetting
.
Martin Schwarzschild
became directory of the Columbia laboratory while Eckert was at USNO.
professor Dana P. Mitchell served in the Manhattan Project
(developing the first nuclear weapon
s) at Los Alamos National Laboratory
.
By 1943 the laborious simulation calculations used electromechanical calculator
s of that time operated by human "computers," mostly wives of the scientists.
Mitchell suggested using IBM machines like his colleague Eckert.
Nicholas Metropolis
and Richard Feynman
organizing a punched card solution, proving its effectiveness for physics research and prompting the use of more powerful computers.
over a project IBM had funded. IBM would instead focus their funding on Columbia, and Eckert's laboratory was named Watson Scientific Computing Laboratory.
Eckert understood the significance of his laboratory, keenly aware of the advantage of scientific calculations performed without human interventions for long stretches of computation. A massive machine built to Eckert's specifications was built and installed behind glass at IBM's headquarters on Madison Avenue in January 1948. Known as the Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator, it was used as a caculating device with some success, but served even better as a recruiting tool.
Eckert publisher a description of the SSEC in November 1948.
As an employee of IBM, Eckert directed one of the first industrial research laboratories in the country. In 1945 he hired Herb Grosch
and Llewellyn Thomas
as the next two IBM research scientists, who both made significant contributions.
When Cuthbert Hurd
became the next PhD to be hired by IBM in 1949, he was offered a position with Eckert, but instead founded the Applied Science Department, and later directed the development of IBM's first commercial stored program computer (the IBM 701
) based on the demand demonstrated by applications such as those of Eckert.
In 1957 the Watson lab moved to Yorktown Heights, New York
(with a new building completed in 1961) where it is known as the Thomas J. Watson Research Center
. Eckert won the James Craig Watson Medal
in 1966 from the US National Academy of Sciences
.
He attended the launch of Apollo 14
just before his death August 24, 1971 in New Jersey
. His wife was Penelope Applegate and he had two children.
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
, who directed the Thomas J. Watson Astronomical Computing Bureau at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
which evolved into the research division of IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
.
Life
Wallace John Eckert was born in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. He was not related to another computer pioneer of the time, J. Presper Eckert
J. Presper Eckert
John Adam Presper "Pres" Eckert Jr. was an American electrical engineer and computer pioneer. With John Mauchly he invented the first general-purpose electronic digital computer , presented the first course in computing topics , founded the first commercial computer company , and...
(1919–1995). He graduated from Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
in 1925, and earned an MA from Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
in 1931.
He started teaching at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1926, and earned his PhD from Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1931 in astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
under Professor Ernest William Brown
Ernest William Brown
Ernest William Brown FRS was a British mathematician and astronomer, who spent the majority of his career working in the United States....
(1866–1938).
Solution of differential equations for astronomy
Around 1933 Eckert proposed interconnecting punched cardPunched card
A punched card, punch card, IBM card, or Hollerith card is a piece of stiff paper that contains digital information represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions...
tabulating machines from IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
located in Columbia's Rutherford Laboratory to perform more than simple statistical calculations. Eckert arranged with IBM president Thomas J. Watson
Thomas J. Watson
Thomas John Watson, Sr. was president of International Business Machines , who oversaw that company's growth into an international force from 1914 to 1956...
for a donation of newly developed IBM 601 calculating punch, which could multiply instead of just adding and subtracting.
In 1937 the facility was named the Thomas J. Watson Astronomical Computing Bureau.
IBM support included customer service and hardware circuit modifications needed to tabulate numbers, create mathematical tables, add, subtract, multiply, reproduce, verify, create tables of differences, create tables of logarithms and perform Lagrangian interpolation, all to solve differential equations for astronomical applications.
In January 1940, Eckert published Punched Card Methods in Scientific Computation, which solved the problem of predicting the orbit
Orbit
In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...
s of the planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
s, using the IBM electric tabulating machines, based on the punched card. This slim book is only 136 pages, including the index.
Naval service
In 1940, World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
had broken out in Europe (but the US was not officially involved). Eckert became director of the United States Naval Observatory
United States Naval Observatory
The United States Naval Observatory is one of the oldest scientific agencies in the United States, with a primary mission to produce Positioning, Navigation, and Timing for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Defense...
in Washington, DC. The increased demand for navigation tables prompted him to automate the process, using punched card equipment. The 1941 almanac was the first to be produced using automated equipment, down to the final typesetting
Typesetting
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of types.Typesetting requires the prior process of designing a font and storing it in some manner...
.
Martin Schwarzschild
Martin Schwarzschild
Martin Schwarzschild was a German American astronomer. He was the son of famed astrophysicist Karl Schwarzschild and the nephew of the Swiss astrophysicist Robert Emden.-Biography:...
became directory of the Columbia laboratory while Eckert was at USNO.
Manhattan Project
Columbia PhysicsPhysics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
professor Dana P. Mitchell served in the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
(developing the first nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s) at Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
.
By 1943 the laborious simulation calculations used electromechanical calculator
Calculator
An electronic calculator is a small, portable, usually inexpensive electronic device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic. Modern calculators are more portable than most computers, though most PDAs are comparable in size to handheld calculators.The first solid-state electronic...
s of that time operated by human "computers," mostly wives of the scientists.
Mitchell suggested using IBM machines like his colleague Eckert.
Nicholas Metropolis
Nicholas Metropolis
Nicholas Constantine Metropolis was a Greek American physicist.-Work:Metropolis received his B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in physics at the University of Chicago...
and Richard Feynman
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
organizing a punched card solution, proving its effectiveness for physics research and prompting the use of more powerful computers.
Watson laboratory
After the war Eckert moved back to Columbia. Watson had just had a falling out with Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
over a project IBM had funded. IBM would instead focus their funding on Columbia, and Eckert's laboratory was named Watson Scientific Computing Laboratory.
Eckert understood the significance of his laboratory, keenly aware of the advantage of scientific calculations performed without human interventions for long stretches of computation. A massive machine built to Eckert's specifications was built and installed behind glass at IBM's headquarters on Madison Avenue in January 1948. Known as the Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator, it was used as a caculating device with some success, but served even better as a recruiting tool.
Eckert publisher a description of the SSEC in November 1948.
As an employee of IBM, Eckert directed one of the first industrial research laboratories in the country. In 1945 he hired Herb Grosch
Herb Grosch
Herbert Reuben John Grosch was an early computer scientist, perhaps best known for Grosch's law, which he formulated in 1950. Grosch's Law is an aphorism that states "economy is as the square root of the speed."...
and Llewellyn Thomas
Llewellyn Thomas
Llewellyn Hilleth Thomas was a British physicist and applied mathematician. He is best known for his contributions to atomic physics, in particular:...
as the next two IBM research scientists, who both made significant contributions.
When Cuthbert Hurd
Cuthbert Hurd
Cuthbert Corwin Hurd was an American computer scientist and entrepreneur, who was instrumental in helping the International Business Machines Corporation develop its first general-purpose computers.-Life:...
became the next PhD to be hired by IBM in 1949, he was offered a position with Eckert, but instead founded the Applied Science Department, and later directed the development of IBM's first commercial stored program computer (the IBM 701
IBM 701
The IBM 701, known as the Defense Calculator while in development, was announced to the public on April 29, 1952, and was IBM’s first commercial scientific computer...
) based on the demand demonstrated by applications such as those of Eckert.
In 1957 the Watson lab moved to Yorktown Heights, New York
Yorktown Heights, New York
Yorktown Heights is a census-designated place in the town of Yorktown in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 1,781 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Yorktown Heights is located at ....
(with a new building completed in 1961) where it is known as the Thomas J. Watson Research Center
Thomas J. Watson Research Center
The Thomas J. Watson Research Center is the headquarters for the IBM Research Division.The center is on three sites, with the main laboratory in Yorktown Heights, New York, 38 miles north of New York City, a building in Hawthorne, New York, and offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts.- Overview :The...
. Eckert won the James Craig Watson Medal
James Craig Watson Medal
thumb|right|400px|James Craig Watson MedalThe James Craig Watson Medal was established by the bequest of James Craig Watson, and is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences for contributions to astronomy.The recipients have been:-External links:*...
in 1966 from the US National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
.
He attended the launch of Apollo 14
Apollo 14
Apollo 14 was the eighth manned mission in the American Apollo program, and the third to land on the Moon. It was the last of the "H missions", targeted landings with two-day stays on the Moon with two lunar EVAs, or moonwalks....
just before his death August 24, 1971 in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. His wife was Penelope Applegate and he had two children.
See also
- Leslie ComrieLeslie ComrieLeslie John Comrie was an astronomer and a pioneer in mechanical computation.-Life:Leslie John Comrie was born in Pukekohe , New Zealand, on 15 August 1893....
- IBM Electromatic Table Printing MachineIBM Electromatic Table Printing MachineThe IBM Electromatic Table Printing Machine was a typesetting-quality printer, consisting of a modified IBM Electromatic Proportional Spacing Typewriter connected to a modified IBM 016 keypunch...
- List of IBM products
- History of IBMHistory of IBMInternational Business Machines, abbreviated IBM and nicknamed "Big Blue", is a multinational computer technology and IT consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. The company is one of the few information technology companies with a continuous history dating back to...
Further reading
- Pugh, Emerson W. (1995). Building IBM: Shaping and Industry and Its Technology. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-16147-3.
External links
Includes photographs, references, bibliography, and publication list.- Oral history interview with Martin Schwarzschild. Charles Babbage InstituteCharles Babbage InstituteThe Charles Babbage Institute is a research center at the University of Minnesota specializing in the history of information technology, particularly the history since 1935 of digital computing, programming/software, and computer networking....
, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. SchwarzschildMartin SchwarzschildMartin Schwarzschild was a German American astronomer. He was the son of famed astrophysicist Karl Schwarzschild and the nephew of the Swiss astrophysicist Robert Emden.-Biography:...
was Eckert's immediate successor as director of the Watson Scientific Computation LaboratoryThomas J. Watson Research CenterThe Thomas J. Watson Research Center is the headquarters for the IBM Research Division.The center is on three sites, with the main laboratory in Yorktown Heights, New York, 38 miles north of New York City, a building in Hawthorne, New York, and offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts.- Overview :The...
at Columbia University. - Wallace J. Eckert Papers, 1931-1975. Charles Babbage InstituteCharles Babbage InstituteThe Charles Babbage Institute is a research center at the University of Minnesota specializing in the history of information technology, particularly the history since 1935 of digital computing, programming/software, and computer networking....
, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.