1972 1977 Department Head Daniel Stubbs
Curtis F. Gerald served as Department Head until 1972. Leon Maksoudian became acting Head until the Department recommended Daniel Stubbs as the new Head and this action was approved by Dean Clyde Fisher, and the appointment made by President Robert E Kennedy in the Fall of 1972.
Daniel Stubbs with the Computer Science office staff, left to right: Clary Lobato, Janice Zoradi, Meri Kay Gurnee, Daniel Stubbs, and Lynda Alamo.
Some interesting things happening in the computer science evolution during Professor Stubbs’ tenure as Department Head are listed below:[^9]
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The January 1975 edition of Popular Electronics featured the Altair 8800 computer kit, based on Intel’s 8080 microprocessor, on its cover. Within weeks of the computer’s debut, customers inundated the manufacturing company, MITS, with orders. Bill Gates and Paul Allen licensed BASIC as the software language for the Altair. Ed Roberts invented the 8800 – which sold for $297 or $395 with a case – and coined the name “personal computer”. The machine came with 256 bytes of memory (expandable to 64K) and an open 100-line bus structure that evolved into the S-100 standard.
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In 1976, Steve Wozniak designed the Apple I, a single-board computer. With specifications in hand and an order for 100 machines at $500 each from the Byte Shop, he and Steve Jobs got their start in business. About 200 of the machines sold before the company announced the Apple II.
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The Cray I made its name as the first commercially successful vector processor in 1976. The fastest machine of its day, its speed came partly from its shape, a C, which reduced the length of wires and thus the time signals needed to travel across them.
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In 1976, Gary Kildall developed CP/M, (Control Program/Microprocessor) a simple operating system for computers. Widely adopted, CP/M made it possible for one version of a program to run on a variety of computers built around eight-bit microprocessors compatible with 8080 and Z80. He also wrote a high level language, PL/M, for microcomputers.
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In 1977, the Apple II became an instant success when released with it’s printed circuit motherboard, power supply, keyboard, case assembly, manual, game paddles, A/C power cord, and cassette tape with the computer game `"Breakout`" (6502 based CPU). Within two years, Harvard MBA candidate, Daniel Bricklin, and programmer, Robert Frankston, developed VisiCalc, the program that made a business machine of the personal computer, for the Apple II. VisiCalc (for Visible Calculator) automated the recalculation of spreadsheets. A huge success, more than 100,000 copies sold in one year.
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In the first month after its release in 1977, Tandy Radio Shack’s first desktop computer – the TRS-80 – sold 10,000 units, well more than the company’s estimate. Priced at $599.95, the machine included a Z80 based microprocessor, a video display, 4 kilobytes of memory, BASIC, cassette storage, and easy-to-understand manuals.
In 1973, the Cal Poly Csc M.S. program began. The graduate committee composed of Bernard Evans, John Hsu, Curtis Gerald, and Elmo A. Keller designed a flexible program allowing students to concentrate in different areas of study. Admission to the program required a B.S. degree from an accredited institution with at least a B average. Keep in mind that in 1973, there were not many Csc graduates, and this program allowed for students to be re-trained in the computer field.
Fundamental to this program for students without a computer science background, a 15 unit sequence was developed called “Foundations of Computer Science.” The intensive course provided background in computer science for non-majors and was required for entry into the M.S. program for non-Csc majors. The course content consisted of computer architecture, assembly, Pascal/C programming, data structures, algorithms, compilers, and introduction to operating systems. This sequence was taken in the summer before entry into the program.
A practicum in computer science, for 5 units, required students to “document and solve a practical problem in Csc selected from a business, industrial or scientific organization under the guidance of representatives from the cooperating organization and a member of the Csc faculty.”
There were four tracks of courses and students selected 2 areas of speciality:
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Modeling and Simulation,
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Numerical analysis,
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Computer systems and software,
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Information Processing.
The remaining units were selected from 400-500 level courses, a required seminar, and either thesis or an exam. Remember, this was in 1973 and computer science has evolved a long way over the past quarter of a century. Nevertheless in 1973, students in the M.S. program had to solve a “real computer related problem” outside the domain of the university.
Daniel Stearns, graduate of Cal Poly University and UC Berkeley, now a Csc Faculty member.
In 1974, the Csc Department acquired a PDP-11 and loaded the Unix Operating System, thanks to Jay Bayne and Jim Beug. The machine was housed in a room provided by the Cal Poly Computer Center. This started a long association with Cal Poly Csc Department and Unix – over 25 years. Shortly thereafter, we started a course on C and Unix that has been going strong ever since. Our main computing unit at this time remained IBM 360/40, but the Unix “PDP-11” provided the faculty with C programming, printing, and intra-departmental mail. Some in the Computer Science Department have had over a quarter of a century of using Unix mail. The department also had a Data General minicomputer, but it served only as a vehicle for an assembly course taught by Jay Bayne.
The first laboratory, as I recall, was in room 14-240, the one with the windows in the front, now occupied by the Engineering and Computer Science Accreditation and Assessment Center. This first laboratory in the Computer Science and Statistics Department consisted of programmable calculators that were used in some statistics courses. Technology changed rapidly and when microcomputers became available, this became Bernie Evans’ room. Located in this laboratory were an elaborate “electric train and tracks”, a work bench, some 8080 Intel INTELEC microcomputers and the Data General minicomputer.
Bernie Evans organized the first micro computer courses using the 8080 machines and his big project was to write software to control the train. He built sensors in the tracks and with his students wrote in 8080 assembly and PL/M the software to control the operation.
Later in 1977, Emile Attala hired Ralph R. Nicovich to be the first technician and later director of the Computer Systems Laboratory with Neal Pollock, Alan Bell, and Haley Landis who transferred from the Csc Department office to the laboratory as a software technician.
Cal Poly University is one of five major universities in the United States that has been recognized by a national research organization for its exemplary computer science curriculum.[^10]
The selection was made as a part of a federally-funded research project sponsored by the National Science Foundation and conducted by the Human Resources Research Organization. (HumRRO)
Dr. William Langworthy, Dean of the School of Science and Mathematics, said, “The results of the HumRRO survey reflect what is known on campus, but it is nice to have corroboration from an outside source.” The five universities were Rutgers University, University of Texas, Purdue University, Mankato State University, and California Polytechnic State University at SLO.
The research project entailed surveying 7,000 agencies, educational institutions and individuals. From this sample of 106 institutions, five were chosen because of excellence in one of the following areas:
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Spectrum of Applications,
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Computer Literacy Program,
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Computer Science Curriculum,
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Outreach to the community.
Daniel Stubbs as Computer Science and Statistics Department Head.
Neil Webre, Curtis Gerald, Jay Bayne, and John Hsu in the early days of the Computer Science Department.
Left to right: Sham Luthra, (1972) operations research and core sequence; Joseph Grimes (1973) director of CSL and CPE programs, networks and computer architecture.
Roy Holstien, started at Cal Poly in 1973 and retired in 1987. Roy taught in the areas of numerical analysis as well as continuous and discrete simulation.