Hugh Blair-Smith, A.B. ’57, S.B. ’59 (engineering and applied physics) has published his first book, “Left Brains for the Right Stuff: Computers, Space, and History." The book, published by SDP Publishing, chronicles early computer history, including groundbreaking work that was done in Howard Aiken’s Harvard computation laboratory from 1956-1959. The book also recounts how Blair-Smith and others in the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory created the Apollo Guidance Computer, which enabled astronauts to reach the moon.
"Left Brains for the Right Stuff" briefly summarizes the history of three technologies—rockets, navigation, and computers—and recounts how they were woven into the rise and rivalry of superpowers in the 20th century.
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