Von Neumann, John

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Hungarian Computer Scientist and Mathematician
1903–1957

John Louis von Neumann was one of the great pioneers of computer science and mathematics during the twentieth century. Known for his concept of the stored computer program, he performed work that paved the way for the powerful and ubiquitous electronic computers of the early twenty-first century. His work on the Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) computers built the foundation for what is now known as the "von Neumann Architecture." This architecture resulted in the development of powerful supercomputers employed by government, universities, and other institutions.

Von Neumann was born December 28, 1903, in Budapest, Hungary, and died February 8, 1957, in Washington D.C. During his youth, he was often referred to as a prodigy, having published his first technical paper at the age of eighteen. He began attending the University of Budapest in 1921, where he studied chemistry, receiving his diploma in chemical engineering in 1925.

In 1930 von Neumann was invited to Princeton University in the United States, and he was one of the original professors when the university established the Institute for Advanced Studies in 1933. He recognized the importance of computers in the field of applied mathematics and other disciplines and was involved in several strategic government research projects during World War II. Indeed, one of the cornerstones of von Neumann's philosophy was to apply computers to fields of study that interested him. His work in the fields of statistics, ballistics, meteorology, hydrodynamics, and game theory was invaluable during World War II.

He contributed his scientific expertise to the Manhattan Project, the first attempt to develop an atomic bomb for military purposes. At the time, it was feared that Nazi Germany would be the first to develop and deploy the atomic bomb and thus win the war. Von Neumann played an important role as an adviser to the U.S. government, and his talent for finding solutions to complex problems proved invaluable on the projects with which he was involved. He also played an important part as a trusted conduit between groups of scientists working on separate projects that were sequestered from one another due to wartime needs of security. Thus, he brought togetherthe talents of scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the scientists working on the Manhattan Project, and the scientists and engineers working on the first digital computer, Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC).

After World War II, von Neumann continued to work on government research projects with military applications. His work with supercomputers helped perform the calculations necessary for developing the next generation hydrogen bomb. His ongoing research also led to increasingly capable supercomputers used by the U.S. national laboratories. These proved important for both military and peacetime scientific applications. Hired as a consultant by the IBM Corporation in the 1950s, von Neumann performed duties that involved reviewing proposed and ongoing projects for the company.

Von Neumann is also considered the father of "self replicating systems," systems that could reproduce themselves in a manner not greatly dissimilar from biological life. Von Neumann's concept consisted of two central components: a universal computer and a universal constructor. The universal computer contained the software that directed the universal constructor, and was essentially the central brain of the system. Guided by the universal computer, the constructor was a machine that was fully capable of creating copies of the universal computer and of itself. Once the constructor built another copy of itself, the control software was copied from the original universal computer.

The newly created constructors would then begin to execute the control software, and the process would repeat. The system as a whole is thus self-replicating. The self-replicating concept has been extended to constructors capable of building other objects, depending on the control software employed by the universal computer. The self-replicating machine concept has been explored by scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for building inexpensive and self replicating probes for future space exploration.

One of von Neumann's most famous quotes illustrates the brilliance and depth of his intelligence and personality: "If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only because they do not realize how complicated life is."

Joseph J. Lazzaro

Babbage, Charles; Early Computers; Early Pioneers; Government Funding, Research; Hollerith, Herman; Turing, Alan M.

Goldstine, Herman H. The Computer from Pascal to von Neumann. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1972.

von Neumann, Nicholas A. John von Neumann: As Seen by His Brother. Meadowbrook, PA: Private Printing, 1988.

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