Moore School of Electrical Engineering
The Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania came into existence as a result of an endowment from Alfred Fitler Moore on June 4, 1923. It was granted to the Penn's School of Electrical Engineering, located in the Towne Building. The first dean of the Moore School was Dr. Harold Pender.
The Moore School is particularly famed as the birthplace of the computer industry:
- It was here that the first digital electronic computer, the ENIAC, was built between 1943 and 1946.
- Preliminary design work on the ENIAC's successor machine the EDVAC resulted in the stored program concept used in all computers today, the logical design having been promulgated in John von Neumann's First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC, a set of notes synthesized from meetings he attended at the Moore School.
- The first computer course was given at the Moore School in Summer 1946, leading to an explosion in computer development all over the world.
- Moore School faculty John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert founded the the first computer company, which produced the UNIVAC computer.
The Moore School has been integrated into Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science. It no longer exists as a separate entity; however, the 3-story structure itself still stands and is known on campus as the Moore School Building. Originally constructed in 1921 as a two story building by Erskin & Morris, a third story was added in 1926 by Paul Cret.
External links
- Oral history interview with S. Reid Warren Warren, a faculty member at the Moore School, discusses ENIAC/EDVAC, the personal interactions of the project members, and the effect of the project on the Moore School. Central to his discussion are J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly and their disagreements with administrators over patent rights, which led to their resignation. Interview by Nancy B. Stern, 5 October 1977. Charles Babbage Institute
- Guide to the S. Reid Warren, 1908 - 1996, Papers, 1923 - 1991 at the University of Pennsylvania. NB: this detailed biographical note entirely omits mention of ENIAC!
- A complete history for all of Penn Engineering, including the Moore School
- Penn Maps & Buildings - Moore School Building [1]