Author: Laura Weis

Contact me about:
  1. Information about the history of biomedical computing at the Washington University School of Medicine
  2. Reference assistance for the Institute for Biomedical Computing Records and the Jerome R. Cox Papers
Archives and Rare Books

Mary Allen Wilkes

By — April 4, 2024

In 2015, the Heinz Nixdorf Museum in Paderborn, Germany, opened an exhibition honoring women in computing. In addition to pioneers like Ada Lovelace, the museum recognized the contributions of Mary Allen Wilkes, whose work at MIT and Washington University was essential to the development of the Laboratory Instrument Computer (LINC) then on display at the  [Read more]

Archives and Rare Books

“There is no health equivalent of ARPA”: Biomedical Computing during the Cold War

By — January 8, 2024

In February 1974, Dr. Jerome Cox, Jr., gave a speech at his alma mater, MIT, which asked, “Why Don’t We Have a Medical-Industrial Complex”? While the use of technology in medicine had certainly progressed since the 1950s, he suggested “a gap exists between expectations and accomplishments,” noting “[t]hings haven’t moved as they have in the  [Read more]