Pioneering computer engineer Gordon Bell has died – Planet

Chester Gordon Bell, pioneering researcher and computer engineer, Passed away At his home in Coronado, California. He was 89 years old. The related health issues he was dealing with did not prevent him from documenting a number of his radical technological achievements, as well as making a significant contribution to the establishment of the Computer History Museum.

Among these achievements, one of the most important is his contribution to the creation of the first “microcomputers” in the 1960s, which are huge by today’s standards, but were smaller than computers of the time that occupied entire rooms. He participated in the creation of PDP-1, PDP-4 and PDP6. The PDP-1 is known today as the personal computer on which Spacewars!, the first video game in history, was created.

In addition to his contributions to the PDP minicomputer, Bell is also known as the co-founder of the Computer History Museum, and has led a number of research programs at Microsoft, including MyLifeBits, which was Gordon Bell’s attempt to digitally archive as many aspects of his life as possible, before Long time after the era of Twitter, Google Glass, or controversial recalls.

Bill has received numerous honors from the technology community, including the IEEE John von Neumann Medal and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, and has been a member of organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Academy of Engineering. He also founded Encore Computer and Ardent Computer, known for their work in parallel computing and graphics-focused supercomputing, respectively.

From a young age, Bill faced a series of health problems that often confined him to his home and bed, but did not prevent him from becoming a professional electrician at the age of twelve. As an adult, he suffered a myocardial infarction.

Fortunately, none of these issues prevented Bell from helping to make technology history as an academic, technologist, and archivist, leaving his indelible mark on the world of computing.