Guide to the Ivan E. Sutherland collection on asynchronous computing
Finding aid prepared by Sydney Gulbronson Olson
Computer History Museum
March 2019
1401 N. Shoreline Blvd.
Mountain View, CA, 94043
(650) 810-1010
research@computerhistory.org
Title: Ivan E. Sutherland collection on asynchronous computing
Identifier/Call Number: X8348.2018
Contributing Institution:
Computer History Museum
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
11.0 Linear feet,
7 record cartons and 3 periodical boxes
Date (inclusive): 1966-1999
Abstract: The Ivan E. Sutherland collection on asynchronous computing ranges in date from 1966 to 1999 and contains materials from Sun
Microsystems Laboratories and the Computer Systems Laboratory at Washington University related to asynchronous computing,
known widely today as neuromorphic computing. The largest section of the collection consists of subject files pertaining to
asynchronous computing research, the majority of which were created by Charles Molnar while he worked at Sun Microsystems
from 1990 to 1996. A smaller portion of the collection is made up of bound technical memoranda from the Computer Systems Laboratory
at Washington University, which focus on the laboratory's development of macromodules and macromodular computer systems. Types
of materials in the collection include technical papers and reports, handwritten notes and diagrams, presentation materials,
patent applications, correspondence, memos, code listings, manuals, program libraries, conference proceedings, and literature
compilations.
creator:
Molnar, Charles Edwin, 1935–1996
creator:
Sutherland, Ivan Edward, 1938-
Collection surveyed by Sydney Gulbronson Olson, 2018.
The collection is open for research.
The Computer History Museum (CHM) can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying
any claims of the copyright holder. Requests for copying and permission to publish, quote, or reproduce any portion of the
Computer History Museum's collection must be obtained jointly from both the copyright holder (if applicable) and the Computer
History Museum.
[Identification of Item], [Date], Ivan E. Sutherland collection on asynchronous computing, Lot X8348.2018, Box [#], Computer
History Museum.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Ivan Sutherland, 2017.
Ivan E. Sutherland is an American computer scientist who is a major figure in computer graphics, virtual reality, and asynchronous
computing. Born May 16, 1938, he earned a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, a master's
degree from Caltech, and a Ph.D. from MIT in 1963. Sutherland is known for inventing Sketchpad and was a professor at first
Harvard University and then the University of Utah. Additionally, he worked as head of the US Defense Department Advanced
Research Project Agency's (ARPA) Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO). In 1968 he co-founded Evans and Sutherland
with his friend and colleague David C. Evans. He then founded a consulting firm, Sutherland, Sproull and Associates in 1980,
which was purchased by Sun Microsystems in 1990 to form the seed of its research division, Sun Microsystems Laboratories.
Sutherland assembled the documents in this collection from his personal files, his work with ARPA, and from Charles Molnar
when he worked at Sutherland's Sun Research laboratory during the 1990s. The materials are all related to asynchronous, also
known as neuromorphic, computing. Specifically, the documentation from ARPA is related to Wesley Clark's work on macromodules
at the Computer System Laboratory at Washington University. Macromodules are the fundamental building blocks in the world
of asynchronous computing. Charles Molnar, who worked with Clark on macromodule research at Washington University and later
joined Sutherland at Sun Microsystems Laboratories, is well known for his work in neuromorphic, asynchronous computing. When
he passed away in 1996, he was working at Sun Microsystems on asynchronous circuits with Ivan Sutherland. Sutherland saved
Molnar's papers, later incorporating them into this collection on asynchronous computing.
Scope and Content of the Collection
The Ivan E. Sutherland collection on asynchronous computing ranges in date from 1966 to 1999 and consists primarily of materials
from Sun Microsystems Laboratories during the 1990s and technical reports published by the Computer Systems Laboratory at
Washington University during the late 1960s. The most common types of materials in the collection include technical papers
and reports, handwritten notes and diagrams, presentation materials, patent applications, correspondence, memos, and code
listings. Additionally, there is a small amount of manuals, program libraries, conference proceedings, and literature compilations.
The largest section of the collection consists of research files, the majority of which were created by Charles Molnar while
he worked at Sun Microsystems from 1990 to 1996. These files are related to asynchronous computing research and contain drafts
of technical reports, hand-drawn diagrams, presentation transparencies, patent applications, internal and external correspondence,
and technical papers from Sun Microsystems Laboratories. There are also a significant number of technical papers that were
authored and published by people and institutions outside of Sun Microsystems. Sutherland, who worked at Sun with Molnar,
saved his files after Molnar passed away in 1996. This portion of the collection also includes some files created by Sutherland,
most of which document the work of the Sun Microsystems Laboratories.
A smaller portion of the collection is made up of bound technical memoranda from the Computer Systems Laboratory at Washington
University published between 1966 and 1974. These reports focus on the laboratory's development of macromodules and macromodular
computer systems, which laid the foundation for asynchronous computation. There is also a multi-volume final report on macromodular
computer design, which was completed in 1974. The work of the laboratory was directed by Wesley A. Clark and funded in part
by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the Department of Defense.
In addition, the collection holds one box of spiral-bound technical reports from Sun Microsystems Laboratories, which are
all titled "Asynchronous Technical Manuals" and dated 1999. Finally, there is a small amount of miscellaneous publications
ranging in date from 1975 to 1996, including conference proceedings, program libraries for DECUS, and reference books.
Related Collections at Other Repositories
Wesley A. Clark Papers, Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives, Washington University School of Medicine.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Clark, Wesley Allison, 1927-2016
Asynchronous circuits
Neuromorphic computing
Sun Microsystems Laboratories
Washington University. Computer Systems Laboratory