The Naval Postgraduate School celebrates 50 years in computing

CHIPS, Jan-March, 2005 by Christine Cermak

With our colleagues at CENIC, we are exploring the possibility of higher level access to California's higher education network--moving from the current Defense Research and Engineering Network (DREN) DS3 speed to gigabit and then to 10 gigabit. Technology planning at NPS today involves forging alliances with the Department of the Navy CIO, other Navy higher education institutions, the Naval Education and Training Command, our local DoD and federal agency colleagues, state agencies, national network organizations, higher education partners, and municipal and county governments.

In addition, our matrix of partnerships includes corporate associates. For example, in order to assist in our faculty's research on 10 gigabit networks, Foundry Networks donated a laboratory to the NPS Foundation that was awarded to faculty in our Information Sciences department. Sun Microsystems has provided NPS with future technology briefings and access to its senior scientists. In addition, Sun has donated equipment to the NPS Foundation that was awarded to the NPS Center for Information Security Research. Sun is an especially interesting company for those of us in universities because its roots are in higher education--its corporate name stands for Stanford University Network.

Partnerships are an intrinsic part of our technology present and future. Just as multidisciplinary work is the hallmark of 21st century higher education--collaboration is an imperative for technology planning. Sharing resources not only gives NPS a better return value in terms of technology investment dollars, but more importantly, in intellectual collaboration.

The last 50 years showed us the way to a rich future with impressive accomplishments and innovative--and sometimes risky initiatives. This history left a legacy that urges raising the bar each year.

50 Years of NPS Computing Highlights

* 1953--Lt. Cmdr. Warren Randolph Church, the "Father of NPS Computing" and chairman of the Department of Mathematics, purchased the first electronic automatic digital computer, a National Cash Register 102A for the department.

* 1960s--Church replaced the NCR 102A with the world's first all-solid-state computer, Control Data Corp.'s CDC 1604 Model 1, No. 1. It was designed, built, tested and certified by the legendary Seymour Cray. Cray's first-born supercomputer was the first of 10 ordered by the Navy's Bureau of Ships for Operational Control Centers worldwide. * The Naval Numerical Weather Project (NANWEP) was given time on NPS' newly-minted CDC1604 for a feasibility study. NANWEP soon got its own super-computers. Renamed the Fleet Numerical Meteorological and Oceanographic Center, it is still collocated with NPS just a mile away. * NPS was among the first to move beyond single-user machines to multi-access timesharing.

* 1970s--NPS Professor of Computer Science, Gary Kildall, wrote the world's first high-level programming language for Intel's microprocessor, and then the first microprocessor operating system, soon to be run on nine out of 10 PCs. He soon founded Intergalatic Digital Research, later shortened to Digital Research. About the same time, IBM approached a young Bill Gates to design an operating system for its PC, and he referred them to Kildall. IBM went back to Gates when Kildall's approach didn't work out ... and the rest is history. * NPS established its first Computer Science Group, and two years later it was the third California node to connect to the ARPANET. * By the end of the decade, NPS had a dedicated Department of Computer Science.