Stein, Marvin L.

Stein, a professor at the University of Minnesota since 1956, helped plan and develop the university's computer facilities as founding director (1958-1970) of what became the university computing center, and acting head of the computer science department (1970-1971). Stein's research interests included numerical analysis, continuous system simulation, machine arithmetic, and the organization of the hardware and software systems that support computer programming. Stein authored a number of publications about programming and machine arithmetic.

Marvin Leonard Stein, B.A. (1947), M.A. (1949), Ph.D. (1951) University of California at Los Angeles. Joined the mathematics faculty at the University of Minnesota in 1956; was director of the University's Computer Center (1958-1970); one of the founding faculty members of the department of computer science at the University of Minnesota.

Computer science professor.

Marvin Leonard Stein, B.A. (1947), M.A. (1949), Ph.D. (1951) University of California at Los Angeles. Joined the mathematics faculty at the University of Minnesota in 1956; was director of the University's Computer Center (1958-1970); one of the founding faculty members of the department of computer science at the University of Minnesota.

Marvin L. Stein was born on July 15, 1924 in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), earning his B.A. in 1947, M.A. in 1949 and Ph.D. in 1951. After working at the UCLA Mathematician Institute of Numerical Analysis (1948-1952) and as a research engineer at Consol.-Vultee Aircraft Corporation (1952-1955), Professor Stein joined the faculty of the mathematics department at the University in Minnesota as an associate professor in 1956 and was promoted to professor in 1961. While he spent his entire academic teaching career at the University of Minnesota, he also was a visiting professor at the Weismann Institute of Science in Israel (1963-1964) and at Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University in Jerusalem (1971-1972).

In 1958 Professor Stein became the director of the Institute of Technology's Computer Center, later the Numerical Analysis Center and the University Computer Center. In 1970 he resigned from the positions of director of the University Computer Center and technical director of University Computer Services to return to teaching in the computer science department. Professor Stein served as acting head of the department of computer science from 1970-1971 and director of the graduate school from 1987-1990. He retired from the University in 2000 and was named Professor Emeritus in 2002.

While hired as a professor of mathematics, Professor Stein was interested in the use of computers. He taught the first computer course at the University on high-speed computation on an ERA 1103. Courses on computing continued to be offered within the department of mathematics, but Professor Stein and a few other faculty noted that a new department dedicated to computing would allow for a wider variety of courses. Upon the urging of these faculty members, a graduate program in Computer and Information Sciences was offered beginning in 1967, and in 1970 the department of computer science, now the department of computer science and engineering, was established at the University of Minnesota.