Institute for Advanced Study Computer Project Records
name: label: Creator
content: Princeton University. Institute for Advanced Study Computer Project
label: Names
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Computers, Information and Society
label: Names
content: von Neumann, John
place: label: Place
content: Princeton (N. J.)
label: Place
content: New Jersey
topic: label: Topic
content: Computer programming
label: Topic
content: Computer science
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Collection donated by Leon D. Harmon, March 23, 1982.
creator: label: Creator
content: Princeton University. Institute for Advanced Study Computer Project
setName: label: See more items in
content: Institute for Advanced Study Computer Project Records
abstract: label: Summary
content: Collection documents the Electronic Computer Project, 1950-1957 at the Institute for Advanced Study. The goal of the project was to build a computer that would be a general-purpose postwar tool for various branches of scientific research.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: This material was generated by participants in the IAS Computer Project, 1950-1957.  The Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, NJ has long been a center of scholarly work in many disciplines of science by noted researchers (e.g. Albert Einstein).  The computer project was initiated there in 1946 by John Von Neumann, a mathematician who had been working on ballistics computations during World War II.  He used the first version of the Princeton computer to calculate the results of the thermonuclear reaction of the first H bomb in 1950.  In the late 1950s, after Von Neumann's death, the project was terminated.  A brief summary of the project and Von Neumann's contribution is found in Chapter 5 of Who Got Einstein's Office? by Edward Regis (Addison Wesley Publishing Co., Inc., 1987.)
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.7 Cubic feet (3 boxes
)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1950-1957.
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: Transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Computer, Information & Society (now Division of Medicine and Science) on January 22, 1991.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0401
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Journals (accounts)
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Reports
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: This collection was processed by Don Darroch, Archives Center volunteer.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Journals (accounts)
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings -- 1950-1960
label: Genre/Form
content: Reports
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection includes published reports of the staff of the Electronic Computer Project, monthly progress reports, and reports by individual staff members (sometimes in draft form) on particular problems or pieces of equipment.  Numerous drawings of computer components are also included, together with 10 glass photo slides in color of equipment and two slides of personnel (unidentified).  A special "computer issue" of Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers (published October, 1953) contains 41 papers on technical aspects of computers.