Vannevar Bush

Vannevar Bush (March 11, 1890–June 30, 1974) was an American engineer, inventor, and politician, known for his political role in the development of the atomic bomb, and idea of the memex —seen as a pioneering concept for the world wide web. He was allegedly a member of the secret committee Majestic 12 investigating UFO activities.

Career

Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, Bush was educated at Tufts College, graduating in 1913. He joined the Department of Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1919, and was a professor there from 1923–32. He constructed a Differential Analyser, an analog computer that could solve differential equations with as many as 18 independent variables, based on Charles Babbage's Difference Engine. An offshoot of the Differential Analyser was the birth of digital circuit design theory by one of Bush's graduate students, Claude Shannon.

Related Topics:
Chelsea, Massachusetts - Tufts College - 1913 - Massachusetts Institute of Technology - 1919 - Differential Analyser - Analog computer - Differential equation - Charles Babbage - Difference Engine - Digital circuit - Claude Shannon

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bush was president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington in 1939 and in the same year appointed chair of National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. In 1940, Bush became chairman of the National Defense Research Committee and in 1941 director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, which controlled the Manhattan Project and coordinated wartime scientific research during World War II. He recommended the creation of what would become the National Science Foundation in order to cement the ties between science, industry and the military which had been forged during the war. Bush was also a cofounder of the defense contractor Raytheon.

Related Topics:
Carnegie Institution of Washington - National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics - 1940 - National Defense Research Committee - Office of Scientific Research and Development - Manhattan Project - World War II - National Science Foundation - Defense contractor - Raytheon

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~