Anderson, Walter L. (Walter Leonard), 1922-

Anderson joined Engineering Research Associates in 1946 and worked as a design engineer. He later transferred from St. Paul to the Arlington, VA office and worked in sales. He was one of the founders of General Kinetics, Inc. in 1955 and became its president in 1965. From 1962 to 1964 he was chairman of the IEEE Professional Group on Electronic Computers (now the IEEE Computer Society). He served as director of American Federation of Information Processing Societies and held many committee posts from 1962 to 1971, becoming vice president in 1971 and president in 1972. In 1974 Anderson joined the U.S. General Accounting Office as the associate director for automatic data processing.

From the description of Walter L. Anderson papers, 1942-1955. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 63282475

Engineer with Engineering Research Associates (ERA) and a founder of General Kinetics, Inc.

From the description of Oral history interview with Walter L. Anderson, 1986 Sept. 11. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 63282991

Walter L. Anderson received his BEE (1944) and MSEE (1948) from the University of Minnesota. After serving in an airborne electronic unit with the U.S. Navy Reserve during World War II, Anderson became an electrical engineer with Engineering Research Associates (ERA) in 1946. Around 1949 Anderson transferred to the ERA Arlington VA office. At ERA, Anderson worked on circuit development for the ERA 1101, systems studies for computers using magnetic drum memories, development of the electrical playback unit for ERA Self-Recording Accelerometers.

With the slow reorganization and eventual elimination of the Arlington ERA division, Anderson and others from the collapsing plant collaborated and incorporated General Kinetics Inc. (GKI) in November 1954. GKI was a pioneer in the research, development, and design of magnetic tape testing and preventative maintenance equipment as well as a special electronics and mechanical device manufacturer. It served both industry and government, dealing extensively with the United States Navy. Mr. Anderson held multiple upper-management positions during his time at GKI, including President, Chief Operations Officer, and Board Chairman, as well as the Division head for the Tape Equipment and ALLO Product lines. Walter Anderson remained with GKI for 19 years, eventually leaving to pursue government opportunities.

Anderson later joined the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO). As Associate Director of the Financial and General Management Studies Division, Anderson initiated an automatic data processing lecture series to provide information for GAO personnel in 1975. This series of lectures included luminaries in the field of computing such as Grace Murray Hopper, Bruce Gilchrist, and consultant Frederick G. Wirthington. When Anderson retired from the federal government in 1990, he was the senior advisor to the director of the Information Management and Technology Division of the GAO.

Walter L. Anderson served on the National Administrative Committee and as Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the IEEE organization during the early and mid-1960s. During his chairmanship the IRE Computer Group grew to 10,000 members, resulting in one of the first press releases sent out by the organization. Anderson was also the Director of the American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) Board of Governors from 1962-1966, National Vice President from 1971-1972, National President from 1972-1973, Chairman of the Awards Committee from 1973-1974, and remained an active executive in the AFIPS society for many years until it was superseded by the Federation on Computing in the United States (FOCUS). One of Walter's most notable marks left during his term of National President was the change to the single AFIPS conference per year, a highly controversial decision at the time and documented in his papers.

From the guide to the Walter L. Anderson Papers, 1942-1999, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Charles Babbage Institute. [cbi])