Francis of IEEE New Orleans, Section

Synopsis:  The rise and fall of the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) is a fascinating chapter in the history of computing.  Started by three engineers in 1957, during the development and production of a series of machines DEC made significant and lasting contributions to computer hardware and software and rose to prominence, becoming in 1988 the #2 computer manufacturer in the world, second only to IBM.  Yet by 1998 DEC was gone, its remaining assets sold off.  The arc of DEC's rise and fall is an illustration and cautionary tale of the power and pitfalls of rapid technological development.

Biography:

Bio:  Dr. Francis Grosz is a physicist and engineer who has been a computer geek since high school.  As an undergraduate at LSUNO he was a member of the Student Staff of the Computer Research Center, working with the original IBM 1620.  He then helped install LSUNO's DEC PDP-10 time-sharing computer and became a System Operator.  As a graduate student at the University of Illinois, he was a research assistant in the Coordinated Science Laboratory and made extensive use of its DEC PDP-10.  At Litton Data Center he was the Principal Electrical Engineer for the design of the AN/UYK-50(V) Data Processing Set (military-speak for computer).  He has designed and programmed numerous embedded systems and computers continue to be an important part of his activities.

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