Keith Uncapher
Encyclopedia
Keith Uncapher was an American
computer engineer and manager.
At the RAND Corporation Uncapher worked on several pioneering computer projects. He founded the Information Sciences Institute
(ISI) at the University of Southern California
, School of Engineering
. There, he assembled teams of engineers who helped to grow the early Internet
April 1, 1922. He attended Glendale Community College
and graduated from California Polytechnic State University
in San Luis Obispo, California
.
in 1950.
As director of the computer science division at RAND, Uncapher pioneered work on the technology of packet switching
, in which digital messages are broken into small packets, sent over a network and reassembled at their destination. Due to this methods inherent reliability and robustness it attracted a great deal of interest at the Department of Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency. He helped officials see the technology's vast potential for facilitating a revolution in computer communications. Uncapher also designed the first time-sharing computer system for mathematicians. He also lead the RAND Tablet Project, a computer system for recognizing hand printed characters using a tablet and stylus. Packet switching research and development led first to the military's ARPANET
, and then to the Internet itself.
. With the Vietnam war
winding down it was also an ideal time for ISI to help rebuild the gap between the Department of Defense
and academia
. During the 1980s, along with his colleagues, Uncapher helped to create the MOSIS
system that made VLSI design more practical and cost effective for researchers, and as a result, architectural innovation more plentiful.
At CNRI, Uncapher worked to advance new areas of information technology, and to make them useful for our nation and for all humankind. His main focus was on fostering the development of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems and in particular, MEMS technology and infrastructure.
Uncapher was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering
in 1998 for contributions to information technology at the national level. He also received the "Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service
" from the Department of the Air Force
as well as the IEEE Computer Society
"Centennial Medal". His lifetime of service included participating on the United States Air Force Scientific Advisory Board
, Defense Information Systems Agency's Scientific Advisory Group, and the Institute for Defense Analyses Computer Science Advisory Group.
He was an active participant in the National Research Council
, Board of Telecommunications. He was a member of the Federal Judicial Center
's Scientific Advisory Group, and served on the EDUCOM Board of Trustees.
He chaired Stanford University
's Computer Science Advisory Committee, and Carnegie-Mellon's Computer Science Advisory Board. He was also a Director of Foretec Seminars
.
Uncapher died while living in Los Angeles, California
on October 10, 2002 of heart failure.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
computer engineer and manager.
At the RAND Corporation Uncapher worked on several pioneering computer projects. He founded the Information Sciences Institute
Information Sciences Institute
The Information Sciences Institute is a research and development unit of the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering which focuses on computer and communications technology and information processing...
(ISI) at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, School of Engineering
Viterbi School of Engineering
The Viterbi School of Engineering is located at the University of Southern California in the United States. It was renamed following a $52 million donation by Andrew Viterbi...
. There, he assembled teams of engineers who helped to grow the early Internet
Biography
Keith Uncapher was born in Denver, ColoradoDenver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
April 1, 1922. He attended Glendale Community College
Glendale Community College (California)
Glendale Community College is a community college in Glendale, California, USA. It was founded to serve the needs of the people in the Glendale Union High School District which at the time included La Crescenta, Glendale, and Tujunga...
and graduated from California Polytechnic State University
California Polytechnic State University
California Polytechnic State University, or Cal Poly, is a public university located in San Luis Obispo, California, United States. The university is one of two polytechnic campuses in the 23-member California State University system....
in San Luis Obispo, California
San Luis Obispo, California
San Luis Obispo is a city in California, located roughly midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Central Coast. Founded in 1772 by Spanish Fr. Junipero Serra, San Luis Obispo is one of California’s oldest communities...
.
Computer pioneer
Uncapher joined RAND Corporation in Santa MonicaSanta Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
in 1950.
As director of the computer science division at RAND, Uncapher pioneered work on the technology of packet switching
Packet switching
Packet switching is a digital networking communications method that groups all transmitted data – regardless of content, type, or structure – into suitably sized blocks, called packets. Packet switching features delivery of variable-bit-rate data streams over a shared network...
, in which digital messages are broken into small packets, sent over a network and reassembled at their destination. Due to this methods inherent reliability and robustness it attracted a great deal of interest at the Department of Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency. He helped officials see the technology's vast potential for facilitating a revolution in computer communications. Uncapher also designed the first time-sharing computer system for mathematicians. He also lead the RAND Tablet Project, a computer system for recognizing hand printed characters using a tablet and stylus. Packet switching research and development led first to the military's 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...
, and then to the Internet itself.
Institute founder
Uncapher persuaded both the US government and USC Engineering Dean, Zohrab Kaprielian, to form a university-based research agency and ISI opened the offices it still occupies in Marina del Rey, CaliforniaMarina del Rey, California
-Demographics:-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Marina del Rey had a population of 8,866. The population density was 6,094.6 people per square mile...
. With the Vietnam war
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
winding down it was also an ideal time for ISI to help rebuild the gap between the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
and academia
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
. During the 1980s, along with his colleagues, Uncapher helped to create the MOSIS
MOSIS
MOSIS is probably the oldest integrated circuit foundry service and one of the first Internet services other than supercomputing services and basic infrastructure such as E-mail or FTP....
system that made VLSI design more practical and cost effective for researchers, and as a result, architectural innovation more plentiful.
At CNRI, Uncapher worked to advance new areas of information technology, and to make them useful for our nation and for all humankind. His main focus was on fostering the development of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems and in particular, MEMS technology and infrastructure.
Uncapher was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
in 1998 for contributions to information technology at the national level. He also received the "Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service
Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service
The Department of the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service is the highest award granted by the United States Secretary of the Air Force to civilian personnel. It consists of a medal, lapel button, and citation certificate...
" from the Department of the Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
as well as the IEEE Computer Society
IEEE Computer Society
The IEEE Computer Society is a professional society of IEEE. Its purpose and scope is “to advance the theory, practice, and application of computer and information processing science and technology” and the “professional standing of its members.” The CS is the largest of 38 technical societies...
"Centennial Medal". His lifetime of service included participating on the United States Air Force Scientific Advisory Board
USAF Scientific Advisory Board
The United States Air Force Scientific Advisory Board is a military unit that provides forecasts of long-range science and technology.-Chronology:...
, Defense Information Systems Agency's Scientific Advisory Group, and the Institute for Defense Analyses Computer Science Advisory Group.
He was an active participant in the National Research Council
United States National Research Council
The National Research Council of the USA is the working arm of the United States National Academies, carrying out most of the studies done in their names.The National Academies include:* National Academy of Sciences...
, Board of Telecommunications. He was a member of the Federal Judicial Center
Federal Judicial Center
The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency of the United States federal courts. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1967, at the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States....
's Scientific Advisory Group, and served on the EDUCOM Board of Trustees.
He chaired Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
's Computer Science Advisory Committee, and Carnegie-Mellon's Computer Science Advisory Board. He was also a Director of Foretec Seminars
Foretec Seminars
Foretec Seminars was a wholly owned subsidiary of The Corporation for National Research Initiatives that provides technical and logistical support for both CNRI and the Internet Engineering Task Force secretariat....
.
Uncapher died while living in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
on October 10, 2002 of heart failure.
External links
- Quicktime movie on Keith Uncapher
- Vinton Cerf's remarks at Keith Uncapher's Memorial Services
- Oral history interview with Keith W. Uncapher, Charles Babbage InstituteCharles Babbage InstituteThe Charles Babbage Institute is a research center at the University of Minnesota specializing in the history of information technology, particularly the history since 1935 of digital computing, programming/software, and computer networking....
, University of Minnesota. Review of projects at RANDRANDRAND Corporation is a nonprofit global policy think tank first formed to offer research and analysis to the United States armed forces by Douglas Aircraft Company. It is currently financed by the U.S. government and private endowment, corporations including the healthcare industry, universities...
when Uncapher was hired in 1950 through the early 1970s, such as JOHNNIACJOHNNIACThe JOHNNIAC was an early computer built by RAND that was based on the von Neumann architecture that had been pioneered on the IAS machine. It was named in honor of von Neumann, short for John v. Neumann Numerical Integrator and Automatic Computer...
, JOSSJOSSJOSS was one of the very first interactive, time sharing programming languages.JOSS I, developed by J. Clifford Shaw at RAND was first implemented, in beta form, on the JOHNNIAC computer in May 1963...
, a survivable national network, GRAILGrail (disambiguation)The Grail or Holy Grail is a mythical object of Arthurian legend.Grail may also refer to:* Grail * "Grail" , television series episode* Grail , the secret society from the comic book Preacher...
(GRAphical Interactive Language), and some work related to the ARPANETARPANETThe 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...
. The formation of Information Sciences InstituteInformation Sciences InstituteThe Information Sciences Institute is a research and development unit of the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering which focuses on computer and communications technology and information processing...
(ISI), funded by DARPA, is described.