Glen Culler
Encyclopedia
Glen Jacob Culler was a professor of electrical engineering
and an important early innovator in the development of the Internet
. Culler joined the University of California, Santa Barbara
(UCSB) mathematics
faculty in 1959 and helped put the campus in the forefront of what would become the field of computer science
. He later served as director of the UCSB Computer Center and professor in the College of Engineering and extended his revolutionary view of the role of computers to include their use in the classroom. He left UCSB to work in industry and establish his own company, called Culler-Harrison, in 1969. Culler-Harrison became CHI Systems, and later, Culler Scientific.
One of Glen Culler's sons, David Culler
, is a notable computer scientist in his own right. Another son,
Marc Culler
, is a distinguished pure mathematician working in low-dimensional topology.
as a means of presenting graphical information, and provided an innovative means of presentation and teaching of mathematical concepts. One of the first object oriented approaches to computing, the system provided a set of operators (e.g., add, subtract, display, multiply, sin, exp) on a predefined set of mathematical objects: scalars, vectors, arrays, and matrices (2-D only, up to about order 30..33).
This interpreted programming language was named MOLSF for Mathematically-Oriented Language, Single-Precision, Floating-point. The MOLSF keyboard consisted of a modified double QWERTY keyboard with the second, upper keyboard, renaming all keys to various functions (special hardware which included APL keyboard capability, two generations existed). The graphical integration was nearly seamless, but memorization of commands was nearly impossible.
The CFS has a second programming language named COL for Card-Oriented Language, somewhat like modern day text-editors. MOLSF and COL didn't communicate very well. They were vastly different languages. The Culler-Fried System only ran at UCSB and TRW
.
Culler's online system was chosen by ARPA to be one of the first four nodes on the original ARPANET
in 1969, and with the University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA), participated in the first exchange of packets of data transmitted in the nascent Internet.
Culler-Harrison is occasionally cited as one of the precursors to the founding of Floating Point Systems
, Inc. and the Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) architecture by Joseph Fisher and James Ellis.
Culler returned to UCSB as an adjunct professor from 1982 through 1984. Over 25 companies in Santa Barbara
were spun out of Culler’s work and the College of Engineering’s Computer Research Laboratory.
Bill Clinton
awarded Culler the National Medal of Technology
for his "pioneering innovations in multiple branches of computing, including early efforts in digital speech processing, invention of the first on-line system for interactive graphical mathematics computing, and pioneering work on the ARPAnet."
He was also a recipient of the Seymour Cray Computer Science and Engineering Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
.
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
and an important early innovator in the development of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Culler joined the University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
(UCSB) mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
faculty in 1959 and helped put the campus in the forefront of what would become the field of computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
. He later served as director of the UCSB Computer Center and professor in the College of Engineering and extended his revolutionary view of the role of computers to include their use in the classroom. He left UCSB to work in industry and establish his own company, called Culler-Harrison, in 1969. Culler-Harrison became CHI Systems, and later, Culler Scientific.
One of Glen Culler's sons, David Culler
David Culler
David E. Culler is a computer scientist, Chair of Computer Science & Associate Chair, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. . He is the Principal Investigator in the LoCal project at Berkeley, and the Faculty Director of the i4Energy Center.Culler...
, is a notable computer scientist in his own right. Another son,
Marc Culler
Marc Culler
Marc Edward Culler is an American mathematician who works in geometric group theory and low-dimensional topology. A native Californian, Culler did his undergraduate work at the University of California at Santa Barbara and his graduate work at Berkeley where he graduated in 1978. He is now at the...
, is a distinguished pure mathematician working in low-dimensional topology.
Work
Culler was the developer of the Culler-Fried Online System, one of the first interactive computer systems in the mid-1960 era. This was the first system to make use of a storage oscilloscopeOscilloscope
An oscilloscope is a type of electronic test instrument that allows observation of constantly varying signal voltages, usually as a two-dimensional graph of one or more electrical potential differences using the vertical or 'Y' axis, plotted as a function of time,...
as a means of presenting graphical information, and provided an innovative means of presentation and teaching of mathematical concepts. One of the first object oriented approaches to computing, the system provided a set of operators (e.g., add, subtract, display, multiply, sin, exp) on a predefined set of mathematical objects: scalars, vectors, arrays, and matrices (2-D only, up to about order 30..33).
This interpreted programming language was named MOLSF for Mathematically-Oriented Language, Single-Precision, Floating-point. The MOLSF keyboard consisted of a modified double QWERTY keyboard with the second, upper keyboard, renaming all keys to various functions (special hardware which included APL keyboard capability, two generations existed). The graphical integration was nearly seamless, but memorization of commands was nearly impossible.
The CFS has a second programming language named COL for Card-Oriented Language, somewhat like modern day text-editors. MOLSF and COL didn't communicate very well. They were vastly different languages. The Culler-Fried System only ran at UCSB and TRW
TRW
TRW Inc. was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, automotive, and credit reporting. It was a pioneer in multiple fields including electronic components, integrated circuits, computers, software and systems engineering. TRW built many spacecraft,...
.
Culler's online system was chosen by ARPA to be one of the first four nodes on the original ARPANET
ARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network , was the world's first operational packet switching network and the core network of a set that came to compose the global Internet...
in 1969, and with the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
(UCLA), participated in the first exchange of packets of data transmitted in the nascent Internet.
Culler-Harrison is occasionally cited as one of the precursors to the founding of Floating Point Systems
Floating Point Systems
Floating Point Systems Inc. was a Beaverton, Oregon vendor of minisupercomputers. The company was founded in 1970 by former Tektronix engineer Norm Winningstad....
, Inc. and the Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) architecture by Joseph Fisher and James Ellis.
Culler returned to UCSB as an adjunct professor from 1982 through 1984. Over 25 companies in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
were spun out of Culler’s work and the College of Engineering’s Computer Research Laboratory.
Awards
In 2000, President of the United StatesPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
awarded Culler the National Medal of Technology
National Medal of Technology
The National Medal of Technology and Innovation is an honor granted by the President of the United States to American inventors and innovators who have made significant contributions to the development of new and important technology...
for his "pioneering innovations in multiple branches of computing, including early efforts in digital speech processing, invention of the first on-line system for interactive graphical mathematics computing, and pioneering work on the ARPAnet."
He was also a recipient of the Seymour Cray Computer Science and Engineering Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a non-profit professional association headquartered in New York City that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence...
.