1928, 26-year-old lecturer of Berlin University was hired by American mathematician Professor Weber to teach in the United States, and von Neumann settled in the United States. 1933 Together with Einstein, he was hired as the first batch of tenured professors in the Institute of Advanced Studies of Princeton University. Although von Neumann is generally regarded as the "father of electronic computers" in the computer field, the history of mathematics insists that von Neumann is one of the greatest mathematicians in this century. He made pioneering work in ergodic theory and topological group theory, and operator algebra was even named "von Neumann algebra". According to the physics circle, the Mathematical Basis of Quantum Mechanics written by von Neumann in the 1930s has proved to be of great value to the development of atomic physics, while the economics circle has repeatedly stressed that the horizontal system of economic growth established by von Neumann, especially the book Game Theory and Economic Behavior published in the 1940s, has made him erect a monument in the fields of economics and decision science. 1957 On February 8th, von Neumann died of bone cancer in Reed Hospital at the age of 54. His great contribution to computer science will never disappear!
The father of electronic computers
The title of "the father of electronic computers" was put on the head of mathematician von Neumann, not two practical researchers of ENIAC, because von Neumann proposed the architecture of modern computers.
1944 In the summer, Goldstein met the world-famous mathematician Professor von Neumann while waiting for the train to Philadelphia at Abedin Station. Goldstein seized the opportunity to ask the master of mathematics for advice. Von Neumann was affable and patiently answered Goldstein's questions. Listen, he is keenly aware of something unusual from these math problems. In turn, he asked Goldstein questions, asking these young people "as if they had experienced another doctoral thesis defense". Finally, Goldstein publicly told him about Moore College's computer project.
Since 1940, von Neumann has been the consultant of Abedin test range, and the calculation problem also makes mathematicians extremely anxious. He told Goldstein that he hoped to visit Moore College in person and see the machines being developed. From then on, von Neumann became the actual consultant of Moore Group, and frequently exchanged views with members of the group. Young people skillfully put forward various ideas, while von Neumann used his profound knowledge to lead the discussion to a deeper level and gradually formed the system design idea of electronic computers. Before ENIAC was put into operation, von Neumann saw the fatal flaw of this machine, and the main drawback was the separation of program and calculation. Program instructions are stored in the external circuit of the machine. To calculate a problem, hundreds of lines must be connected manually first, and it takes dozens of people to work for several days before the operation can be carried out for several minutes. Von Neumann decided to draft a new design report and completely transform the electronic computer. He named the scheme of the new machine "discrete variable automatic electronic computer", abbreviated as "EDVAC" in English.
1June, 945, von Neumann, Goldstein, Boxer and others jointly published a report with a length of 10 1 page, that is, the famous "10/page report" in computer history, which is still regarded as a modern computer today. The report clearly defines the five major components of a computer, and uses binary instead of decimal operation. The revolutionary significance of EDVAC scheme lies in "stored program", which allows computers to automatically execute instructions in turn. Later, people collectively referred to this "stored program" architecture machine as "Neumann machine". For various reasons, the pathetic department of Moore Group prevented it from developing EDVAC machines immediately. 1June, 946, von Neumann, goldstein and Boxer returned to the Institute for Advanced Studies of Princeton University and completed another ISA computer ahead of schedule (ISA is short for Institute for Advanced Studies). Princeton University has also become a research center for electronic computers.
It was not until 195 1 year that the EDVAC computer hosted by von Neumann was announced to be completed. It can be used not only in scientific calculation, but also in information retrieval and other fields, mainly thanks to the power of "stored program". EDVAC only uses 3563 electron tubes and 10000 crystal diodes, and uses 1024 4 4-bit mercury delay lines to store programs and data. The power consumption and floor space are only 1/3 of that of ENIAC.
The earliest built-in programming computer was neither ISA nor EDVAC. Professor M. Wilkes of Cambridge University in England beat von Neumann. Wilkes went to the University of Pennsylvania on 1946 to attend the training course hosted by von Neumann, and completely accepted the design idea of von Neumann's internal storage program. After returning to China, he immediately took the time to take charge of the development of a new type of computer, and in May 1949, he made a computer with 3,000 electron tubes as the main components, named "EDSAC" (Electronic Storage Program Computer). Wilkes later won 1967 the Turing Award, the highest award in the computer field.
During von Neumann's development of ISA computers, a number of computers appeared in the United States that were copied according to the ISA photo structure provided by Princeton University. For example, MANIAC developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory and ILLAC manufactured by the University of Illinois. W. Ware, a scientist from Remington Rand Company, even ignored the opposition of von Neumann, and named his own machine Johanik ("Johanik", "John" is von Neumann's name). Von Neumann's name has become synonymous with modern computers. 1994, Wall was awarded the Pioneer Award in Computer Science, while Von Neumann himself was awarded the National Basic Science Award.