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Alan Turing, Father of Computers
06/23/1912- 06/07/1954 Link text
Alan Turing studied at Kings College, Cambridge where he was awarded honors in mathematics. He would later become well known as the father of computers. -
Universal Turing Machine
Link text Turing's first publication on computable numbers. It used programs of coded instructions stored in memory to control a computer's machine operations. One general machine could do multiple tasks, however no machine could solve all problems! -
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Alan Turing's Machines
[Link text](www.rutherfordjournal.org/article040101.html) These are the technological achievements of Alan Turing, Father of Computers. -
The Bombe Machine
Link text The first Bombe, named Victory, was built to break the German Enigma messages by searching through wheel positions to decipher the encrypted code. For the next four years, the British had knowledge of the German military plans ahead of deployment. Some historians estimate that this invention shortened the war by one to two years and saved millions of lives. -
Paper on Statistics of Repetitions
Link text This paper advised that the Allies should not always act on intercepted battle information in order to ensure that the Germans never suspected that their codes had been broken. This cryptology research was so valuable that it was not released to the public until 2012. -
Turingery
Link text This technique was used to decipher messages from the Lorenz, Germany's new secret writer machine. -
Turing influenced Claude Shannon
Link text Turing was posted to Washington, DC to share British cryptology methods with his counterparts in the US. Claude Shannon, who later became known as the Father of Information Theory, benefited from his contact with Turing. -
Automatic Computing Engine
Link text At the time it was built, the Automatic Computing Engine (ACE) was the fastest computer in the world and the first stored program computer. -
The Turing Test
Link text The Turing Test was a measure used to distinguish between work done by a human being and a machine. It was the beginning of artificial intelligence. -
The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis
Link text Turing proved that one could create complex patterns from a symmetrically organized cell.
Using this concept, Turing predicted elements of developmental biology that would not be discovered for 30 or more years. -
Alan Turing Award
Link text The A.M.Turing award is the highest award in computer science. It was named after Alan Turing in honor of his achievements in mathematical foundations and the field of computers.
