Computing and the National Science Foundation, 1950-2016. William Aspray

Computing and the National Science Foundation, 1950-2016 - William  Aspray


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Section with Tom Keenan, John Lehmann, and later Val Tareski as program managers. The concurrent growth in academic computer science programs and researchers led OCA’s computing research portfolio to grow. A discipline of computer science was emerging but was not yet sufficiently well-defined to provide an obvious blueprint for the new Computer Science and Engineering (CS&E) Section. With leadership from Rose and input from the advisory committee, Curtis and his program team began to define a set of programs. As Keenan noted:

      The CS&E staff worked together to define a set of programs:

      The CS&E portfolio of grants, taken together with support from engineering and information science programs, represented a growing investment in the emerging computing research field. Some of the early OCA research grants were awarded to Niklaus Wirth (Stanford), Michael Harrison (Berkeley), Sam Conte (Purdue), Patrick Fischer (Cornell), Juris Hartmanis (Cornell), and Martin Davis (NYU Courant). Computer science-related facilities awards went to Edward Feigenbaum (Stanford), John Pasta (UIUC), Conte, and Richard Conway (Cornell). The Engineering Section in Mathematics, Physical Sciences, and Engineering (MPE) funded Walter Karplus (UCLA), Melvin Breuer (USC), Edward Coffman (Princeton), and Steve Ungar (Columbia), while the Division of Information Sciences funded Vladimir Slamecka (Georgia Tech) and Naomi Sager (NYU).

      The first 24 years of NSF were marked by changing roles and outcomes for its computing and information programs. The Cold War had a strong influence on the science information and computing facilities programs. Interest in foreign intelligence increased the science information budgets. Defense and atomic energy agencies created a rapid growth in the number, capabilities, and providers of computers and computing facilities. Scientists who had limited or no access to Department of Defense (DoD) and AEC laboratories increased their demand on NSF to provide campus facilities. When NSF was given responsibility for applications in science information and computing facilities, the need to provide the underlying technology resulted in NSF investments that advanced fundamental and applied research. Program and office managers in mathematics, engineering, and the OCA began to make grants to the early pioneers in computing research that with DoD support helped establish early computer science programs. OSIS initiated a number of academic information science and systems programs.

      By the mid-1970s, OSIS had been greatly weakened and was moved to a nonsupportive directorate. OCA lost its facilities and education programs and had yet to gain the respect of the NSF management. In the 1980s everything would change dramatically.

      Much credit for protecting the NSF computing and information programs and building grant portfolios that advanced the underlying technologies is due to a few individuals. Burt Adkinson, the long-term head of OSI and OSIS (1957–1970), was a champion for science information and information science across the government and the discipline. Helen Brownson (1951–1966) was responsible for guiding many of the research efforts funded by OSI and OSIS. Milton Rose (1963–1969), Mathematics Division Director and first head of OCA, recruited to government service a veritable who’s who of computing and was a significant force in the rapid development of computing and computer science in academia. Milt was replaced by John Pasta (1969–1981), who led OCA, DCR, and DMCS through many changes and who with Kent Curtis (1967–1987) established the programs that led to the current strong position of NSF in computer science research.


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