Seymour Cray: The Father of World Supercomputer

Si Hongwei

doi:doi:10.11648/j.history.20190701.11

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Seymour Cray: The Father of World Supercomputer

Si Hongwei

Received: 14 May 2019 Accepted: 13 June 2019 Published: 26 June 2019

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Abstract

Seymour R. Cray was an American engineer and supercomputer developer who designed a series of the fastest computers in the world in 1960-1980s. The difference between Cray and most other corporate engineers is that he often won those business battles. His success was attributable to his existence in a postwar culture where engineers were valued. He was able to also part of an extraordinary industry where revolutionary developments were encouraged, and even necessary. Lastly Cray is recognized as "the father of world supercomputer". From the perspective of science and technology history, this paper describes the history of Cray and his development of supercomputer. It also sums up his innovative ideas and scientific spirit. It provides a reference for supercomputer enthusiasts and peers in the history of computer research.

DOI	10.11648/j.history.20190701.11
Published in	History Research (Volume 7, Issue 1, June 2019)
Page(s)	1-6
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Seymour R. Cray, Supercomputer, Science and Technology History

References

[1]	Tribute to Seymour Cray. IEEE Computer Society. Archived from the original on 2010-8-24.
[2]	Murray, Charles J. The Supermen: The Story of Seymour Cray and the Technical Wizards Behind the Supercomputer, John Wiley & Sons, 1997, pp. 47.
[3]	Weik, Martin H. (June 1957). "UNIVAC SCIENTIFIC 1103". ed-thelen.org. A Second Survey of Domestic Electronic Digital Computing Systems.
[4]	Control Data Corporation. CDC 1604 Computer, Vol 1: Description and Operation, 1960, pp. 1-1.
[5]	Making a World of Difference: Engineering Ideas into Reality, National Academy of Engineering, 2014, pp. 6.
[6]	Hu Shouren. History of computer technology, National University of Defense Technology Press, Changsha, 2016, pp. 86.
[7]	Chen Houyun, Wang Xinggang. The growth of computers: a History of computer Development in the 1960s, Journal of Dialectics of Nature, 1980, Vol 6: pp. 59-60.
[8]	Si Hongwei, Feng lisheng. Research on the innovation and development of supercomputer, Scientific Management Research, 2017, Vol 35: pp. 118.
[9]	Wang Xinggang, Chen Houyun. History of computer Development in the 1970s, Journal of Dialectics of Nature, 1982, Vol 4: pp. 55.
[10]	Si Hongwei, Feng lisheng. The Development of the First Supercomputer YH-1 in China and Its Inspiration, Studies in the History of Natural Sciences, 2017, Vol 36: pp. 566.
[11]	Charles W. Breckenridge. A Tribute to Seymour Cray. the keynote session at Supercomputing 96, 1996-11-19.
[12]	John Markoff. Computer Whiz Seymour Cray, New York Times, 1996-10-6.
[13]	Computer pioneer Cray hurt. The Journal Times (Colorado Springs). 1996-9-23.
[14]	Toby Howard. Seymour Cray: An Appreciation. Personal Computer World magazine, 1997, Vol 2: pp. 1.
[15]	Bell, Gordon. A Seymour Cray Perspective. Microsoft Research. http://www.si.edu/resource/tours/comphist/cray.htm. 1997-9-10.
[16]	William D. Metz. Midwest Computer Architect Struggles with Speed of Light. Science, vol 199, 1978 (1): 404-409.
[17]	Seymour Cray Oral History, University of Minnesota, Babbage Institute, 1996.
[18]	Fang Xingdong, Superman: legend of Seymour Cray, China Computer World, 2004-10-11.

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Si Hongwei. (2019). Seymour Cray: The Father of World Supercomputer. History Research, 7(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20190701.11

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ACS Style

Si Hongwei. Seymour Cray: The Father of World Supercomputer. Hist. Res. 2019, 7(1), 1-6. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20190701.11

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AMA Style

Si Hongwei. Seymour Cray: The Father of World Supercomputer. Hist Res. 2019;7(1):1-6. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20190701.11

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@article{10.11648/j.history.20190701.11,
  author = {Si Hongwei},
  title = {Seymour Cray: The Father of World Supercomputer},
  journal = {History Research},
  volume = {7},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-6},
  doi = {10.11648/j.history.20190701.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20190701.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.history.20190701.11},
  abstract = {Seymour R. Cray was an American engineer and supercomputer developer who designed a series of the fastest computers in the world in 1960-1980s. The difference between Cray and most other corporate engineers is that he often won those business battles. His success was attributable to his existence in a postwar culture where engineers were valued. He was able to also part of an extraordinary industry where revolutionary developments were encouraged, and even necessary. Lastly Cray is recognized as "the father of world supercomputer". From the perspective of science and technology history, this paper describes the history of Cray and his development of supercomputer. It also sums up his innovative ideas and scientific spirit. It provides a reference for supercomputer enthusiasts and peers in the history of computer research.},
 year = {2019}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Seymour Cray: The Father of World Supercomputer
AU  - Si Hongwei
Y1  - 2019/06/26
PY  - 2019
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20190701.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.history.20190701.11
T2  - History Research
JF  - History Research
JO  - History Research
SP  - 1
EP  - 6
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2376-6719
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20190701.11
AB  - Seymour R. Cray was an American engineer and supercomputer developer who designed a series of the fastest computers in the world in 1960-1980s. The difference between Cray and most other corporate engineers is that he often won those business battles. His success was attributable to his existence in a postwar culture where engineers were valued. He was able to also part of an extraordinary industry where revolutionary developments were encouraged, and even necessary. Lastly Cray is recognized as "the father of world supercomputer". From the perspective of science and technology history, this paper describes the history of Cray and his development of supercomputer. It also sums up his innovative ideas and scientific spirit. It provides a reference for supercomputer enthusiasts and peers in the history of computer research.
VL  - 7
IS  - 1
ER  -

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Author Information

Si Hongwei

Department of the History of Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

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Si Hongwei. (2019). Seymour Cray: The Father of World Supercomputer. History Research, 7(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20190701.11

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ACS Style

Si Hongwei. Seymour Cray: The Father of World Supercomputer. Hist. Res. 2019, 7(1), 1-6. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20190701.11

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AMA Style

Si Hongwei. Seymour Cray: The Father of World Supercomputer. Hist Res. 2019;7(1):1-6. doi: 10.11648/j.history.20190701.11

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@article{10.11648/j.history.20190701.11,
  author = {Si Hongwei},
  title = {Seymour Cray: The Father of World Supercomputer},
  journal = {History Research},
  volume = {7},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-6},
  doi = {10.11648/j.history.20190701.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20190701.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.history.20190701.11},
  abstract = {Seymour R. Cray was an American engineer and supercomputer developer who designed a series of the fastest computers in the world in 1960-1980s. The difference between Cray and most other corporate engineers is that he often won those business battles. His success was attributable to his existence in a postwar culture where engineers were valued. He was able to also part of an extraordinary industry where revolutionary developments were encouraged, and even necessary. Lastly Cray is recognized as "the father of world supercomputer". From the perspective of science and technology history, this paper describes the history of Cray and his development of supercomputer. It also sums up his innovative ideas and scientific spirit. It provides a reference for supercomputer enthusiasts and peers in the history of computer research.},
 year = {2019}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Seymour Cray: The Father of World Supercomputer
AU  - Si Hongwei
Y1  - 2019/06/26
PY  - 2019
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20190701.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.history.20190701.11
T2  - History Research
JF  - History Research
JO  - History Research
SP  - 1
EP  - 6
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2376-6719
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.history.20190701.11
AB  - Seymour R. Cray was an American engineer and supercomputer developer who designed a series of the fastest computers in the world in 1960-1980s. The difference between Cray and most other corporate engineers is that he often won those business battles. His success was attributable to his existence in a postwar culture where engineers were valued. He was able to also part of an extraordinary industry where revolutionary developments were encouraged, and even necessary. Lastly Cray is recognized as "the father of world supercomputer". From the perspective of science and technology history, this paper describes the history of Cray and his development of supercomputer. It also sums up his innovative ideas and scientific spirit. It provides a reference for supercomputer enthusiasts and peers in the history of computer research.
VL  - 7
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download