Gerald (Jerry) Estrin (September 9, 1921, New York - March 29, 2011, Santa Monica) - American scientist in the field of computing. Winner of the 1995 Pioneer Computer Award.
| Gerald Estrin | |
|---|---|
| Gerald Estrin | |
 Gerald and Thelma Estrin, Santa Monica , California . September. 2007 | |
| Date of Birth | |
| Place of Birth | New York , USA |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | Santa Monica , California , USA |
| A country | |
| Scientific field | computer science |
| Place of work | |
| Alma mater | |
| Awards and prizes | Guggenheim Fellowship Pioneer of computer equipment ( 1995 ) [d] |
Gerald Estrin, Professor Emeritus , University of California . He worked as a research engineer at the dawn of the computer age. In 1954–1955, Estrin led the development of WEIZAC , the first computer outside the United States and Western Europe. Developed his own computer engineering training programs. He was one of the founders of the computer science department of the UCLA University and its chairman in 1979-1982 and 1985-1988.
Content
Work on the WEIZAC project
WEIZAC - Weizmann Automatic Computer is the first computer in Israel. Estrin and his family left for Israel in 1954 to lead the development of the first computer in the Middle East. But the problem was that the project lacked neither personnel nor tools, from vacuum tubes to soldering irons.
Estrin said in Canadian news in 2004:
My main concern was to hire staff, and then teach him how to design, test, and make computers.
But experience was not enough. To get the thinnest copper strip they needed, the computer group found two Bulgarian immigrants who made spare parts for fans and bicycles in a shack surrounded by farm animals. They were able to use their punching machines to produce strips. In just 15 months, after Estrin's arrival in Israel, the computer began to function, it had about 3,000 vacuum tubes, and, after 46 thousand hours of service, was decommissioned in 1963. Geral Estrin on the achievement that marked the beginning of the computer era in Israel:
The WEIZAC project allowed me to contribute more than I could have imagined. Israel received an information revolution at the very beginning of the computer technology race
Perhaps more importantly, WEIZAC spawned new cadres of engineers and technicians who, with their successors, laid the foundation for the country's high-tech industry and academic institutions.
Israel also left a marked imprint on the quiet scholar.
I learned how to beat the table. And it served me well when I later became chairman of the department of computer technology at UCLA ... but I also fell in love with people.
Scientific Activity
Gerald was educated at the University of Wisconsin, where he received a bachelor’s degree, master’s and doctorate in 1948, 1949 and 1951, respectively. From 1950–56, he worked as a research engineer for the John von Neumann group at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, where he worked on one of the first computers.
Estrin entered the faculty of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1956, planning to create a computer engineering program. As a result, he became one of the founders of the computer science department and was its chairman in 1979–82 and 1985–88. His wife, Thelma Estrin, an honorary professor at UCLA, is in the same department, working on developments in data processing in the study of the brain. Their daughter, Deborah Estrin, professor and director of the UCLA Center for the implementation of Network Sensing, also worked there.
Among the many academic achievements of Estrin was the development of the concept of reconfigurable computing, an idea that led to new types of programmable computer chips that are part of many systems and devices used today.
Family
Gerald's wife is Thelma Estrin, a professor at UCLA University.
The heirs of the Estrin couple are three daughters who keep the traditions of the family.
Judith (Judy), who was born in Tel Aviv, is a prominent person in Silicon Valley, who became one of the founders of seven companies.
Deborah is a UCLA professor in computer science and a founding director of the Network Sensing Implementation Center.
Margo chose a career as a general practitioner in San Francisco.
In addition to the three daughters, they have four grandchildren: Rachel, Joshua, Lia and David.