Kathy Kleiman, historian, computer programmer, telecommunications lawyer and head of the ENIAC Programmers Project, will speak about these women—whom ABC News referred to “Rosie the Riveter meets Bill Gates”—and about her efforts to produce a film documenting their unique and unsung accomplishments at the Fall 2008 Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) Distinguished Lecture.

Kleiman will speak on Thursday, Sept. 25, at the Bryan University Center on the campus of Duke University. The lecture, titled Shaking Up Computer History: Finding the Women of ENIAC, is co-sponsored by Duke University’s Office of the Provost and Office of Information and Technology, and by Women in Science and Engineering (WISE). The lecture hall will open at 11:30 a.m. and lunch will be available free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis. Kleiman’s talk will begin at noon.

Twenty years ago, Kleiman discovered the ENIAC programmers—Kathleen Mauchly Antonelli, Frances Bilas Spence, Frances “Betty” Snyder Holberton, Jean Jennings Bartik, Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer and Ruth Lichterman Teitelbaum—who programmed the first all-electronic programmable computer, the ENIAC. Kleiman devoted her undergraduate thesis to writing the ENIAC programmers’ missing chapter of computer history. A decade later she returned to the ENIAC women to capture their stories in their own voices. These powerful interviews form the basis of a full-length feature documentary Invisible Computers: The Story of the ENIAC Programmers. Some excerpts from the documentary will be shared at the lecture.

“Despite the outstanding success of ENIAC, these pioneering women were relegated to obscurity for over 50 years,” said Kleiman. “They performed their work under difficult conditions and taught themselves to program without programming manuals, classes or languages. The programmers performed a differential calculus equation critical to a secret WWII effort.”

The lecture will also reference the contributions made by several of the ENIAC programmers for decades after WWII, including seminal contributions to computer languages and standards.

Kleiman’s interests also extend to Internet governance issues. She is a founding member of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and co-founder of its Noncommercial Users Constituency. Concerned about protecting noncommercial uses of the Internet, including political and personal speech, Kleiman speaks on issues of free speech, fair use and privacy issues in Internet forums around the world. She is a graduate from Harvard College and Boston University School of Law.

The one-hour lecture will be followed by a question and answer session. It is free and open to the general public, but attendees must register on the RENCI website. For more information and to register, please see Distinguished Lecture Series.

RENCI…Catalyst for Innovation
The Renaissance Computing Institute, a multi-institutional organization, brings together multidisciplinary experts and advanced technological capabilities to address pressing research issues and to find solutions to complex problems that affect the quality of life in North Carolina, our nation and the world. RENCI leverages its expertise and resources in leading edge computing, visualization, networking and data technologies to catalyze new collaborations and find solutions to previously intractable problems. Founded in 2004 as a major collaborative venture of Duke University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the state of North Carolina, RENCI is a statewide virtual organization. For more, see www.renci.org.

Jones’ lecture, Informing the Global Information Society, will take place at 7 p.m., and will be followed by a short question and answer session and refreshments. The event is co-sponsored by UNC’s FedEx Global Education Center.

Jones will discuss how computing and networking are ubiquitous aspects of 21st century life and culture and have fueled a global passion to understand events past, present, and future. His talk will explore ways in which technology is used to meet this quest for understanding and the impacts of living in a world made smaller by technological tools. Jones will also address the wide ranging effects of technologies that span the breadth of human experience.

“Google and Google Earth have used computing, networking and geographic information systems in ways that are transforming education, research and business” said Alan Blatecky, RENCI’s interim director. “The impacts of these applications and technologies are creating new opportunities across the globe and already have redefined how some people work and play.”

As chief technology advocate for Google, Jones advances the technology and organizes the profusion of information available through Google to make it accessible and useful. He travels the globe to meet and speak with representatives of governments, businesses, Google partners and customers in order to advance the company’s mission and technology. Previously, he was the chief technologist of Google Maps, Earth, and Local Search—the teams responsible for providing location intelligence and information in global context to users worldwide.

Jones served as CTO of the Keyhole Corporation, the company that developed the technology used today in Google Earth, which was acquired by Google. He was also CEO of Intrinsic Graphics, and earlier, was director of advanced graphics at Silicon Graphics. He is a prolific inventor and computer programmer, and has developed scientific and interactive computer graphics software.

The one-hour lecture is free and open to the general public, but attendees must register on the RENCI website.  For more information and a registration form, please see
http://www.renci.org/focusareas/eduoutreach/lectureseries.php.

RENCI…Catalyst for Innovation
The Renaissance Computing Institute brings together computer and discipline scientists, artists, humanists, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, state leaders and educators for collaborations designed to reshape science, the economy, the state of North Carolina and the world. RENCI leverages its expertise and resources in leading edge computing, networking and data technologies to ignite innovation and find solutions to previously intractable problems. Founded in 2004 as a major collaborative venture of Duke University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the state of North Carolina, RENCI is a statewide virtual organization.  For more, see www.renci.org.

Irving Wladawsky-Berger, vice president for technical strategy and innovation at IBM, will present a lecture titled “At the Threshold of a 21st Century Business Revolution.” He will examine how powerful new technologies, combined with open standards and the Internet, are building a global information infrastructure and giving business unprecedented access to worldwide resources. “Technologies such as social and business networks and highly visual, interactive interfaces are creating a new collaborative, resource rich environment,” says Wladawsky-Berger. “It is the kind of fundamental change that promises to transform business and social institutions.”

Wladawsky-Berger has been developing IBM’s responses to emerging technologies since 1995, when he was charged with formulating the company’s strategy for the Internet and developing and bringing to market leading-edge Internet technologies that could be integrated into IBM’s mainstream businesses. He has led a number of IBM’s company wide initiatives, including use of the Linux operating system, autonomic computing, grid computing and the On Demand business initiative. Wladawsky-Berger began his career at IBM in 1970 at the company’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center. In addition to his work at IBM, he co-chaired the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee during the Clinton administration and was a founding member of the Computer Sciences and Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council.  He holds an M.S. and Ph. D. in physics from the University of Chicago and recently was appointed visiting professor of engineering systems at MIT’s interdisciplinary Engineering Systems Division. A native of Cuba, he was named Hispanic Engineer of the Year in 2001.

“The RENCI Distinguished Lecture Series is an effort to bring bold, creative thinkers to our region to share their ideas,” said RENCI Director Dan Reed. “Irving Wladawsky-Berger is someone who takes original approaches, who is willing to work with and learn from others, and has the courage to take risks in order to achieve meaningful results. He personifies our renaissance ideal and is an excellent speaker to launch our series.”

The lecture, in the Redbud room at Friday Center, will last about one hour and will be followed by a short question and answer session. It is free and open to the general public. For more information, please see http://www.renci.org/news/lectureseries.php. For directions to the Friday Center, please see http://www.fridaycenter.unc.edu/directions/index.htm. RENCI Distinguished Lectures will be held three times a year, with a second lecture scheduled for April 12, 2007.  Check the RENCI website for the most up-to-date information on the lectures.

RENCI, Catalyst for Innovation
The Renaissance Computing Institute brings together computer and discipline scientists, artists, humanists, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, state leaders and educators for collaborations designed to reshape science, the economy, the state of North Carolina and the world. RENCI leverages its expertise and resources in leading edge computing, networking and data technologies to ignite innovation and find solutions to previously intractable problems. Founded in 2004 as a major collaborative venture of Duke University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the state of North Carolina, RENCI is a statewide virtual organization.  For more, see www.renci.org.