CSIRAC: Designers
Maston Beard
Maston Beard graduated in 1939 from Sydney University and was
involved in radio transmitter design and radar research until
joining the CSIRAC project in 1947. When the computer was moved
to the University of Melbourne in 1955, he continued work on
digital techniques and the application of computers in connection
with navigational aids for civil aviation, the processing of data
from radio telescopes, the control of Narrabri radio heliograph,
and the control of the Siding Spring 3.9-meter telescope. He
retired from CSIRO in 1978 while assistant chief at the Division
of Computing Research. Following his retirement he served as a
Senior Research Fellow in the CSIRO Division of Radiophysics. In
1980 he was awarded an Order of Australia Member (AM), in
recognition of services to Radiophysics.
Trevor Pearcey
Trevor Pearcey graduated in 1940 from Imperial College, London
with First Class honours in Physics and Mathematics. He came to
Australia in late 1945 to work at the Radiophysics Division of
CSIR. After working on radar systems, he began his career in
computing by initiating the CSIRAC project in 1947. This project
was followed by studies of programming languages in the United
Kingdom and of computer networks when he returned to Australia in
1959. After a period as a consultant with the Control Data
Corporation on the STAR 100 project, he retired from the
Caulfield Institute of Technology (now Monash University) in the
late 1980's.
Trevor Pearcey died on Tuesday, 27 January 1998.