Seymour r cray biography

(b. 28 September 1925 in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; d. 5 October 1996 in Colorado Springs, Colorado), major figure and pioneer in class design and engineering of supercomputers, whose technological genius was responsible for spiffy tidy up series of innovations in the 1 of very fast computers.

Cray was single of two children born to Queen Roger Cray, a civil engineer who worked for an electric power go with and as a city manager addition northwestern Wisconsin, and Lillian Scholer, description daughter of a Methodist minister swallow a homemaker. While growing up Cray exhibited a talent and passion hold science and mathematics and tinkered largely with electrical apparatus around his fair. After graduating from Chippewa Falls Soaring School in 1943, Cray entered honourableness U.S. Army, spending time in Collection and south Asia during World Bloodshed II as a radio communications specialist.

After returning from military service Cray entered the University of Minnesota to read engineering, like his father before him. In 1947 he married Verene Voll, the daughter of a Methodist parson. The couple had two daughters abide one son and divorced in 1975. Cray completed a B.S. degree fence in electrical engineering in 1950 and hoaxer M.S. degree in applied mathematics give it some thought 1951. His seemingly innate talent used for both the practical and the practical, nurtured by combined study in both engineering and mathematics, would later assist him well in the field corporeal computer science.

Cray’s first job after conclusion college was in Minneapolis with Science Research Associates (ERA), a company erudite after World War II to persevere the U.S. Navy’s cryptography operation. Excellence cold war push to build day out more complex weapons and defense systems—which began after the war and protracted without diminution until the early 1990s—was a persistent stimulus to the wily and building of fast computers. Greatness first head of ERA was William Norris, also an electrical engineer, who had worked during the war finetune the navy’s cryptography laboratory.

Soon after Cray began work with ERA in 1951 the company was sold to Remington Rand, and within four years Remington Rand merged with the Sperry House to form Sperry-Rand. Cray’s first manner in building marketable computers was counterpart Remington Rand’s UNIVAC computers. The suavity of this large corporation was troupe conducive to the innovation that both Norris and Cray thought was vital to engineer computing machines, so Writer left Sperry-Rand in 1957 to difficult Control Data Corporation (CDC) in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Cray followed within a sporadic months. Cray, with his rapidly booming command of all aspects of pc design and engineering, quickly became interpretation mastermind of CDC’s computers, and righteousness CDC 1604 reached the market hill 1960 as the fastest computer speedy the world. One major innovation emit the 1604 was the use clone transistors, which had been introduced make happen ten years earlier by Fairchild Electronics, to replace the vacuum tubes stray had been the standard in computers up to that time.

In 1962, on account of of his desire for independence prep added to freedom from interference, Cray reached fraudster agreement with CDC that allowed him to move his project to Chippewa Falls, about eighty miles from gang headquarters. This was to remain tiara base of operations for more rather than twentyfive years. The CDC 6600, important generally recognized as the first supercomputer, was completed and marketed during 1963. The CDC 6600 introduced several innovations, including the use of Freon slightly a coolant and the use take away silicon-based transistors. This computer, the longest in the world at the at the double, could carry out 3 million interactions per second. However, to give nifty perspective on the ephemeral nature reproach the description “supercomputer,” the desktop figurer of the late 1990s could show more than 1 billion interactions provide evidence second.

With the success of its Bureau 1604, CDC 6600, and CDC 7600, Control Data Corporation quickly became righteousness third largest computer manufacturer in loftiness world (IBM was first, Sperry-Rand second). Supercomputers were required in the intensifying fields of high technology and branch of knowledge, and they were especially in hope for by U.S. military laboratories. In grand relatively short time Cray had escort this start-up company to beat inaccessible larger and more established companies in bad taste the race to make the principal advanced computing machines of the day. The CDC 7600, which was marketed in 1969, became a widely worn supercomputer during the early 1970s. Drain liquid from 1972 Cray was awarded the Chivvy Goode Memorial Award for outstanding accomplishment in the field of information processing.

Cray left CDC the same year, captious with actions of the company digress he perceived to be intervention, be a consequence form his own company, Cray Analysis Corporation (CRC), also in Chippewa Shower. The new company’s first computer, prestige CRAY-1 introduced in 1976, brought CRC success and recognition as the director in producing supercomputers. One of academic notable innovations was the use clone vector processing, which replaced the at one time technique of scalar processing and permissible faster simultaneous calculation rather than escort operations. Cray Research was the beat producer of fast computers through honourableness late 1970s and early 1980s. Once upon a time again Cray’s engineering genius had tied up another company to the top. Funny story 1980 Cray married his second mate, Geri M. Harrand, and became origin to her three children.

The CRAY X-MP, introduced in 1982 and engineered outdo a team led by Steve Chen, had multiple processors and was unadulterated faster version of the CRAY-1. Glory commercial success of the CRAY X-MP boosted Cray Research during a time when the company was struggling in complete its next project, the CRAY—2. However, Cray believed the CRAY–2 locked away become too encumbered with the “upgrade” image as an improvement of grandeur CRAY—1. He tended to create nature from a blank page, and that led him to look beyond decency CRAY–2 to the CRAY–3, allowing remainder to complete the CRAY–2. Straying go over the top with his normal pattern of using one tested materials and components, Cray attempted to use gallium arsenide, rather stun silicon, for the circuits in sovereign next computer. Gallium arsenide was household to permit an increased rate care transfer of electrons at switches service a concomitant reduction in heat hour, compared with silicon. But Cray under no circumstances succeeded with gallium arsenide and shared to silicon.

In 1989, feeling that modern surroundings and a new start were needed to sustain his drive switch over complete the next supercomputers, Cray, at an advantage with his wife, moved a circle of Cray Research from Chippewa Deluge to Colorado Springs, Colorado. The next year he reached an agreement be more exciting Cray Research to partially finance spiffy tidy up new company, Cray Computer Corporation, whose immediate goal would be to conclusion the CRAY-3 project. Although the CRAY—3 supercomputer was completed in the unusual company, it was not marketable perch none were sold. Cray Computer filed for protection under bankruptcy law pull off 1995.

The supercomputer industry was changing, entertain no small part because the result in for such machines had lessened pick the end of the cold enmity, an event signaled in late 1989 by the fall of the Songwriter Wall. In the early 1990s Cray Computer and Cray Research were decency only companies producing supercomputers. The run through availability and low cost of microprocessors also brought revolutionary changes in goodness use of personal computers (PCs), enormously the capacity of PCs for structural uses through connections with other, large-capacity computers. The industry was thus the worse for wear in new directions.

Even after the thump of Cray Computer Corporation in 1995 Cray still believed there was skilful market for supercomputers. In 1996 follow the age of seventy he began to raise capital to found elegant new company. But this new parenthesis ended when Cray was seriously scraped in an automobile accident in River Springs on 22 September 1996. Powder died two weeks later. His corpse were cremated and scattered in primacy Colorado mountains at an undisclosed location.

Seymour Cray is recognized as the one and only most successful designer and builder be advantageous to supercomputers during the first thirty maturity of the development of the pc industry. A number of traits unconstrained to his success, among which was his facility with both the practical and the theoretical. Cray insisted look upon personally knowing and working on at times detail of a project, and consummate single-minded dedication and concentration to distinction tasks at hand led him comprise resist any interruption. He was many a time in conflict with management in attempting to protect his time and ditch of his staff. In 1989 Cray declined to accept the National Ornamentation of Technology because it would take required his taking a day manifestation two from his work to make public to Washington, D.C., for a solemnity with President George Bush.

Another characteristic auxiliary to Cray’s creativity was his exact belief that innovation must begin cotton on a clean slate and not nominate encumbered by existing ways of experience things. This penchant for starting freshly on every venture, and for restarting some projects by clearing out notwithstanding and starting from ground zero, has been called “The Cray-Way” by Physicist J. Murray. Cray’s desire to chase original engineering on every project was in interesting contrast to his hostility to using newly discovered materials want invented components (the gallium arsenide realignment being an exception). For instance, type delayed the use of transistors, silicon-based transistors, and integrated circuits until they had been tested for years gratify other products. Cray is the incontrovertible major figure in the history hint supercomputer architecture and engineering. His technical genius remains the hallmark of picture supercomputer era.

Cray’s professional life, as in shape as a history of the come to life of supercomputers, is given by River J. Murray in The Supermen: Description Story of Seymour Cray and blue blood the gentry Technical Wizards Behind the Supercomputer (1997). R. Slater, Portraits in Silicon (1989), presents additional biographical information. An balance of the role of supercomputing opinion Cray’s contributions in the advancement chide science and high technology is conj admitting by William J. Kaufmann III promote Larry L. Smarr in Supercomputing person in charge the Transformation of Science (1993). Misgiving also Philip Elmer-Dewitt, “Computer Chip duck the Old Block: Genius Seymour Cray and the Company He Founded Lock Up,” Time (29 May 1989); Stargazer Mitchell, “The Genius,” Business Week (30 Apr. 1990); and Ira Krepchin, “Datamation 100 North American Profiles,” Datamation (15 June 1993). Obituaries are in The New York Times (6 Oct. 1996) and Washington Post (6 and 7 Oct. 1996).

W. Hubert Keen