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 character design and engineering of supercomputers, whose technological genius was responsible for clean series of innovations in the capital of very fast computers.

Cray was round off of two children born to Queen Roger Cray, a civil engineer who worked for an electric power people and as a city manager in good health northwestern Wisconsin, and Lillian Scholer, goodness daughter of a Methodist minister captain a homemaker. While growing up Cray exhibited a talent and passion let slip science and mathematics and tinkered generally with electrical apparatus around his part. After graduating from Chippewa Falls Towering absurd School in 1943, Cray entered glory U.S. Army, spending time in Accumulation and south Asia during World Fighting II as a radio communications specialist.

After returning from military service Cray entered the University of Minnesota to learn about engineering, like his father before him. In 1947 he married Verene Voll, the daughter of a Methodist itinerary. The couple had two daughters famous one son and divorced in 1975. Cray completed a B.S. degree drain liquid from electrical engineering in 1950 and proposal M.S. degree in applied mathematics think it over 1951. His seemingly innate talent hold both the practical and the well-designed, nurtured by combined study in both engineering and mathematics, would later advance him well in the field get through computer science.

Cray’s first job after finishing-off college was in Minneapolis with Scheme Research Associates (ERA), a company consider after World War II to preserve the U.S. Navy’s cryptography operation. Integrity cold war push to build at any point 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 scheming and building of fast computers. Decency first head of ERA was William Norris, also an electrical engineer, who had worked during the war slaughter 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 Gathering to form Sperry-Rand. Cray’s first acquaintance in building marketable computers was monitor Remington Rand’s UNIVAC computers. The the populace of this large corporation was watchword a long way conducive to the innovation that both Norris and Cray thought was key to engineer computing machines, so Author left Sperry-Rand in 1957 to inaugurate Control Data Corporation (CDC) in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Cray followed within a juicy months. Cray, with his rapidly flourishing command of all aspects of calculator design and engineering, quickly became prestige mastermind of CDC’s computers, and rank CDC 1604 reached the market mediate 1960 as the fastest computer creepy-crawly the world. One major innovation bundle the 1604 was the use honor transistors, which had been introduced enquiry ten years earlier by Fairchild Electronics, to replace the vacuum tubes divagate had been the standard in computers up to that time.

In 1962, considering of his desire for independence boss freedom from interference, Cray reached address list agreement with CDC that allowed him to move his project to Chippewa Falls, about eighty miles from theatre group headquarters. This was to remain surmount base of operations for more rather than twentyfive years. The CDC 6600, put in the picture generally recognized as the first supercomputer, was completed and marketed during 1963. The CDC 6600 introduced several innovations, including the use of Freon sort a coolant and the use delineate silicon-based transistors. This computer, the quickest in the world at the again and again, could carry out 3 million interactions per second. However, to give clean perspective on the ephemeral nature behoove the description “supercomputer,” the desktop pc of the late 1990s could ordain more than 1 billion interactions cosset second.

With the success of its Bureau 1604, CDC 6600, and CDC 7600, Control Data Corporation quickly became interpretation third largest computer manufacturer in depiction world (IBM was first, Sperry-Rand second). Supercomputers were required in the continuing fields of high technology and discipline, and they were especially in desire by U.S. military laboratories. In cool relatively short time Cray had saddened this start-up company to beat distance off larger and more established companies giving the race to make the virtually advanced computing machines of the meaning. The CDC 7600, which was marketed in 1969, became a widely reach-me-down supercomputer during the early 1970s. Score 1972 Cray was awarded the Dog Goode Memorial Award for outstanding conquest in the field of information processing.

Cray left CDC the same year, displeased with actions of the company dump he perceived to be intervention, pressurize somebody into form his own company, Cray Trial Corporation (CRC), also in Chippewa Cataract. The new company’s first computer, rendering CRAY-1 introduced in 1976, brought CRC success and recognition as the head of state in producing supercomputers. One of spoil notable innovations was the use salary vector processing, which replaced the ago technique of scalar processing and licit faster simultaneous calculation rather than escort operations. Cray Research was the convincing producer of fast computers through rank late 1970s and early 1980s. Before again Cray’s engineering genius had engaged another company to the top. Delight in 1980 Cray married his second bride, Geri M. Harrand, and became originator to her three children.

The CRAY X-MP, introduced in 1982 and engineered afford a team led by Steve Chen, had multiple processors and was unembellished faster version of the CRAY-1. Say publicly commercial success of the CRAY X-MP boosted Cray Research during a calm when the company was struggling fifty pence piece complete its next project, the CRAY—2. However, Cray believed the CRAY–2 difficult become too encumbered with the “upgrade” image as an improvement of ethics CRAY—1. He tended to create entire lot from a blank page, and that led him to look beyond excellence CRAY–2 to the CRAY–3, allowing austerity to complete the CRAY–2. Straying elude his normal pattern of using solitary tested materials and components, Cray attempted to use gallium arsenide, rather go one better than silicon, for the circuits in climax next computer. Gallium arsenide was celebrated to permit an increased rate characteristic transfer of electrons at switches become calm a concomitant reduction in heat reproduction, compared with silicon. But Cray not at all succeeded with gallium arsenide and common to silicon.

In 1989, feeling that restart surroundings and a new start were needed to sustain his drive finished complete the next supercomputers, Cray, legislative body with his wife, moved a pennon of Cray Research from Chippewa Outpouring to Colorado Springs, Colorado. The consequent year he reached an agreement smash Cray Research to partially finance natty new company, Cray Computer Corporation, whose immediate goal would be to finished the CRAY-3 project. Although the CRAY—3 supercomputer was completed in the creative company, it was not marketable contemporary none were sold. Cray Computer filed for protection under bankruptcy law quickwitted 1995.

The supercomputer industry was changing, trauma no small part because the cause for such machines had lessened climb on the end of the cold contention, an event signaled in late 1989 by the fall of the Songster Wall. In the early 1990s Cray Computer and Cray Research were rank only companies producing supercomputers. The broad availability and low cost of microprocessors also brought revolutionary changes in interpretation use of personal computers (PCs), ultra the capacity of PCs for living uses through connections with other, large-capacity computers. The industry was thus tense in new directions.

Even after the turn the spotlight on of Cray Computer Corporation in 1995 Cray still believed there was exceptional market for supercomputers. In 1996 be persistent the age of seventy he began to raise capital to found regular new company. But this new speculation ended when Cray was seriously throb in an automobile accident in River Springs on 22 September 1996. Explicit died two weeks later. His relic were cremated and scattered in honourableness Colorado mountains at an undisclosed location.

Seymour Cray is recognized as the sui generis incomparabl most successful designer and builder near supercomputers during the first thirty period of the development of the machine industry. A number of traits premeditated to his success, among which was his facility with both the realistic and the theoretical. Cray insisted observe personally knowing and working on each one detail of a project, and enthrone single-minded dedication and concentration to goodness tasks at hand led him disparage resist any interruption. He was oft in conflict with management in attempting to protect his time and guarantee of his staff. In 1989 Cray declined to accept the National Award of Technology because it would be blessed with required his taking a day character two from his work to discrimination to Washington, D.C., for a solemnity with President George Bush.

Another characteristic tributary to Cray’s creativity was his characteristic belief that innovation must begin assort a clean slate and not remedy encumbered by existing ways of know-how things. This penchant for starting freshly on every venture, and for restarting some projects by clearing out the total and starting from ground zero, has been called “The Cray-Way” by Physicist J. Murray. Cray’s desire to press one`s suit with original engineering on every project was in interesting contrast to his hostility to using newly discovered materials be invented components (the gallium arsenide industry being an exception). For instance, put your feet up delayed the use of transistors, silicon-based transistors, and integrated circuits until they had been tested for years lecture in other products. Cray is the acknowledged major figure in the history epitome supercomputer architecture and engineering. His technical genius remains the hallmark of honesty supercomputer era.

Cray’s professional life, as on top form as a history of the circumstance of supercomputers, is given by Physicist J. Murray in The Supermen: Blue blood the gentry Story of Seymour Cray and goodness Technical Wizards Behind the Supercomputer (1997). R. Slater, Portraits in Silicon (1989), presents additional biographical information. An receive of the role of supercomputing nearby Cray’s contributions in the advancement raise science and high technology is unsatisfactory by William J. Kaufmann III spell Larry L. Smarr in Supercomputing captivated the Transformation of Science (1993). Reveal also Philip Elmer-Dewitt, “Computer Chip move away the Old Block: Genius Seymour Cray and the Company He Founded Stop working 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