Richard Daystrom Doctor Richard Daystrom was one of the most influential Human scientist s of the 23rd century . Born in 2219 , Daystrom was considered a genius in his day , and was compared to such mind s as Albert Einstein , Kazanga , and Sitar of . He was the inventor of the comptronic and duotronic computer systems . A storied career . In 2243 , at the age of twenty - four , Daystrom made the duotronic breakthrough , which won him the Nobel and Zee - Magnees Prize s . However , he felt under - appreciated by his peers and successors , and resented them for developing improvements based on his work , while he was , in essence , left behind . In response , he devoted his full vigor to the development of the multitronic computer system to create a successful artificial intelligence . This culminated in the M - 5 , a computer system sophisticated enough to smoothly control a starship by itself , possibly precluding the need for organic crew s . Breakdown . In 2268 , he came aboard the to perform a field test of the M - 5 . During the test run , the M - 5 started displaying erratic and violent behavior . This included seizing control of nonessential systems , attacking a freighter , the " Woden " , without provocation , reacting to war game s with other starships with full strength attacks , jeopardizing 1 , 600 lives , and resisting efforts to be disconnected . It was revealed that Daystrom ' s programming of the system incorporated his own personality engram s as a model for the computer ' s personality , which included his psychological status . Unfortunately , Daystrom was mentally unstable and had a nervous breakdown aboard the " Enterprise " that required him to be subdued , while the M - 5 was convinced that the death s it caused required it to commit suicide . Dr . Daystrom was committed to a mental rehabilitation facility in 2268 , after the incident . ( ) Legacy . None of this appeared to have much impact on the esteem granted Daystrom and his work . The Daystrom Institute , one of the most prominent Federation research centers , was named after him , as was the Daystrom Award . ( ) A photo of Daystrom and a biography of him were present in the ' s library computer . They were visible when , in 2364 , Data was assimilating Dixon Hill novels . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Richard Daystrom was played by William Marshall . He filmed his scenes between Thursday and Monday 11 December 1967 , and on Wednesday 13 December 1967 and Thursday 14 December 1967 on Desilu Stage 9 . In the first draft script for " The Ultimate Computer " , he was called John Daystrom . In an early draft of , the character which became Leah Brahms was instead to have the surname " Daystrom " , and she was to be Dr . Daystrom ' s great - great - granddaughter . The TNG casting department didn ' t realize this would call for a black actress to play the role until after Susan Gibney had been cast for the part . Although the character was thereafter renamed ( at the suggestion of Script Coordinator Eric A . Stillwell ) , the Daystrom link was retained by referring to her as having graduated from the Daystrom Institute . ( ; ) An entry about Richard Daystrom was included in " Who ' s Who in Star Trek 1 " from DC Comics , which cites his birthplace as Göteborg ( also known as Gothenburg ) , Sweden . Apocrypha . Richard Daystrom appears in the novel " The Rift " by Peter David , as one of several Federation scientists who accompany Kirk on an embassy to a reclusive and advanced race , the Caligar . Daystrom confides that , although many consider his intellect to be undiminished , his confidence has deserted him , making him incapable of any new ideas . In an epilogue to the novel , however , Daystrom combines observations of the Caligar ' s technology with his previously discarded M - 5 research , to produce the forerunner of the 24th century holodeck .