Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (archive)

Electrical Engineering Alumnus to Receive Award for Impact on Computer Arithmetic and Iowa State’s Designation as the Birthplace of the Digital Computer

 

Contacts:
Dana McCullough, communications specialist, 319-377-9839, ext. 317, schmidtdiastate.edu
Sara K. Harris, administrative specialist, 515-294-2664, skharrisiastate.edu

Ames, Iowa – It’s been more than 50 years since electrical engineering alumnus Richard “R. K.” Richards (BSEE ’43) was a practicing engineer. He followed an unusual career path—working for only eight years in industry before returning to Ames to become a farmer. But his impact on computing and Iowa State University’s designation as the birthplace of the digital computer during his short engineering career was tremendous, and that is why Richards is being honored Friday, October 16 with Iowa State’s Professional Achievement Citation in Engineering award.

Richards was a pioneer in computer arithmetic, the electronic processing of numbers. He wrote the first textbook on computer arithmetic, bringing order to what some scholars called a chaotic subject at the time. The book was reprinted 10 times, educating a generation of engineers on an innovative subject.

Richards also wrote four other books, including one called Electronic Digital Systems, which played a pivotal role in a 1972 court case involving Honeywell and Sperry-Rand that determined who invented the world’s first electronic digital computer. Richard’s statement that “the ancestry of all electronic digital systems appear to be traceable to … the Atanasoff-Berry Computer” helped to validate the claim that Iowa State University’s John Vincent Atanasoff, a professor of physics, and Clifford Berry, an electrical engineering graduate student, invented the first digital computer. The court decision brought important recognition to Iowa State University.

During his short engineering career, Richards also was awarded 28 U.S. patents for his work. The titles of these patents reflect his contributions to some of the basic fundamentals in the digital systems and computer fields today.

Photo Opportunity

Richards will be in the lobby of Durham Hall at Iowa State University on October 15 at 2:30 p.m. for a photo opportunity of him with the replica of the Atanasoff-Berry Computer. Press are invited to attend.

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