8 collections related to History of Computing and Simulation

This collection contains materials collected over the course of Brian W. Hollocks' career from the 1960s to 1980s. Included are numerous computer simulation manuals and user guides created through operational research conducted by the United Steel Companies in the United Kingdom, as well as instruction sheets, circuit boards, and a video cassette. Brian W. Hollocks is a retired Professor of Management Science and Information Systems at Bournemouth University and was the INTEL Chair in Computer-Supported Co-operation. He is a Chartered (Mechanical) Engineer and holds a Ph.D. in Management Science from Southampton University. He taught and researched on simulation, computer-supported cooperative work, knowledge management, and artificial intelligence. Before his career in academia, Hollocks worked in business and industry, primarily in operational research and software development and marketing. Less

The Computer Simulation Oral History Archive, 2003-2018, includes video and audio interviews of computer simulation pioneers. The video oral histories of computer simulation pioneers were funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and were conducted from 2013-2016. The purpose of this grant initiative was to capture and preserve accounts of seminal projects, related pivotal events, and distinguished project contributors from the perspectives of, and the words of, individuals who witnessed the relevant history of computer simulation firsthand. The importance of collecting these accounts is also based on the remarkable degree to which computer simulation has heavily influenced the design of computing software. The Computer Simulation Oral History Archive is a part of the Computer Simulation Archive, which was established in 1998 with substantial initial donations of papers and research materials by three pioneers in the field of computer simulation—Robert G. Sargent, Alan Pritsker, and Julian Reitman. The Computer Simulation Oral History Archive includes interviews conducted from 2003-2016, almost all of which were funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Computer simulation was established as a separate discipline of research and practice during the mid-1950s, with many seminal works in the field published from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s. Reflecting the diverse backgrounds of the field’s pioneers, simulation encompasses theory, methodology, and practice arising at the interface of applied probability, computer science, electrical and computer engineering, industrial and systems engineering, management, manufacturing engineering, operations research, and statistics. The roots of the computer simulation field are revealed in the broad diversity of current application domains in which the development and use of large-scale computer simulation models are critical to the design, improvement, and operational control of computer and telecommunications networks, financial systems, healthcare delivery systems, transportation systems, and governmental and military systems. The field comprises discrete-event simulation, Monte Carlo methods, combined discrete-continuous simulation as well as hybrid analytic/simulation computer models. It is noteworthy that as the field has matured, it has contributed significantly to the evolution of allied disciplines—for example, object-oriented programming in computer science and innovative resampling schemes in statistics. Less

The Douglas E. Hammond Collection of Computer Manuals contains manuals for computer software and hardware primarily created by IBM. There is a small segment of manuals for software and hardware created by the Applied Data Research group. The manuals range in date from 1962 to 1983. Some major types of items covered include virtual machines, operating systems, customer information control systems and information systems. They are primarily targeted to the IBM mainframe platform. Douglas E. Hammond was a former employee of IBM who worked with IBM mainframes and collected these manuals from the early computer era. They date as far back as 1962 and go through 1983. These manuals showcase the type of products that IBM was creating during the exponential rise of computer usage and the development of the Internet. As is well known, the computer as well as IBM as a company have evolved and changed greatly over time. The items in this collection are evidence of both the change over a two decade period. They also add to a more complete history of computing and simulation. Hammond also collected some manuals from the Applied Data Research group that have threads of connection to some of the IBM manuals, such as the subject of COBOL, the Common Business-Oriented Language, a very early programming language. Less

This collection contains three VHS videotapes from the Winter Simulation Conference during 1992 and 1999. Dr. James R. Wilson, NC State University professor in the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, received his education from Rice University (B.A. in 1970, M.S. in 1977) and Purdue University (Ph.D. in 1979). He has been a member of the Industrial and Systems Engineering faculty at North Carolina State University since 1991. Less

The Lawrence Auld Collection of Kaypro Computer Materials, 1973-1992, contains computer manuals, newsletters, and magazines that document Kaypro computers and their use. The Kaypro computer was a competitor to the IBM PC. Kaypro published the magazine ProFiles: the Magazine for Kaypro Users, which is included in this collection. Another periodical included in this collection, Micro Cornucopia, was published in Bend, Oregon, for Kaypro users. Auld acquired these materials during the 1980s when he was actively using the Kaypro computer system. The creator of the collection, Lawrence Auld, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor Emeritus in the School of Communication in the College of Fine Arts and Communication at East Carolina University. Less

The Philip J. Kiviat Papers (1962-2010) consist primarily of technical papers related to Kiviat's work in developing the GASP and SIMSCRIPT simulation languages in the 1960s and 1970s. Other papers include conference brochures, contracts, correspondence, and writings by others. Philip J. Kiviat is the author of two books on simulation programming languages (SIMSCRIPT II and GASP) and numerous technical papers. The “Kiviat Graph” is widely used in the computer hardware and software performance field, as well as in other disciplines, to portray performance patterns and distinguish modes of behavior. Kiviat was the first technical Director of the Federal Computer Performance Evaluation and Simulation Center (FEDSIM) that was established by the United States Air Force in 1972. Less