University of Michigan, Computing Center

For historical note, please consult manuscripts finding aid for University of Michigan Computing Center Records.

From the guide to the Computing Center (University of Michigan)publications, 1965-1999, 1965-1999, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)

Established in 1959 to operate academic computing facility and provide computing services for faculty and students. Developed Michigan Terminal System (MTS) operating system and other software for mainframe computers. Merged into University of Michigan Information Technology Division in 1985.

From the description of University of Michigan Computing Center records, 1952-1987. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 34422680

From the description of Computing Center (University of Michigan) records, 1952-1996 (bulk 1959-1987). (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 78136920

The University of Michigan Computing Center was established as an independent center within the Horace Rackham School of Graduate Studies on July 1, 1959. Prior to this it was part of the Statistical and Computing Laboratory of the Graduate School. In 1965 the Computing Center was placed under the Vice President for Research. With the appointment of the Vice Provost for Information Technology and creation of the Information Technology Division (ITD) in 1985, the Computing Center was made a unit of ITD.

The function of the Computing Center was to provide computing services for the academic and research needs of the entire university campus, to operate and maintain mainframe computing facilities, and to engage in research and development of computer software and hardware systems. In the early 1980s, the Computing Center became involved in the introduction of personal computers on campus and the development of local, regional and national computer networks.

Dr. Robert F.C. Bartels was named the first director of the Computing Center, serving until 1978. Aaron Finerman became director in 1978 and was succeeded in turn by Carolyn Autrey-Hunley in 1986. The Computing Center's first facility was located in remodeled space in the North University Building at 1205 North University Avenue. The Center moved to a new facility on North Campus in 1971. The North University Building (NUB) location became the first of a number of public access computing sites operated by the Computing Center.

The first digital computing machine at the university was built by the Willow Run Laboratory under sponsorship of the Wright Air Development Center of the U.S. Air Force. The MIDAC (Michigan Digital Automatic Computer) became operational in 1953. It was the second such computer in the Midwest and was used primarily for government sponsored research, with only limited access for instructional use. Nevertheless, a number of faculty and graduate students did receive training on the MIDAC. Under the direction of Professor John Carr, several automatic programming systems were developed for the MIDAC, including MAGIC (Michigan Automatic General Integrated Computation) and EASIAC (Easy Instruction Automatic Computer.) This marked the beginning of a tradition of operating system and programming language development at the university. The Air Force, which retained ownership of MIDAC, removed the machine from campus in 1958.

In 1956 the university administration approved the installation of an IBM 650 in the Statistical Research Lab in the Rackham Building under the auspices of the IBM Educational Contribution Program. Statistical Lab staff, led by Bruce Arden and Bob Graham developed the Generalized Algebraic Translator (GAT) programming language and compiler, a relatively easy to use language that greatly expanded the user community on campus and at other sites where it was installed. The IBM 650 was in service at the Statistical Lab through September of 1959.

An ad hoc committee chaired by university Vice President William Stirton was formed in 1956/57 to consider the need for a major computational facility for instructional and research use. The recommendations of this committee led to the establishment of the Computing Center. In 1957 the committee considered bids from IBM, Univac Division of Sperry Rand, and Burroughs for the installation of a new, more powerful computer. The IBM bid was accepted and a model 704 was delivered to the North University Building in July, 1959 and became operational in August.

• Aug. 1959 - Aug. 1961 : IBM 704
• Jan. 1961 - Aug. 1962 : IBM 709
• Sept. 1962 - July 1968 : IBM 7090
• May 1966 - March 1967 : IBM 360/50
• March 1967 - July 1968 : IBM 360/Half Duplex 67
• Aug. 1968 - 1975 : IBM 360/Full Duplex 67
• Jan. 1975 - Sept. 1975 : IBM 370/168

The Computing Center staff developed operating systems and languages for each of the machines including MAD (Michigan Algorithm Decoder) for the 704, 709 and 7090 series as well as the UM Executive System (UMES) for the 7090. The limited memory available to the IBM 7090 and the high cost of its operation demanded the use of "batch processing," in which programs were run immediately after one another with minimal human intervention. Batch processing ensured that the university's expensive computing resources were used cost-effectively, but did so at the price of requiring users to wait hours or days for project results. However, in 1966 new developments in virtual memory architecture inspired the staff of the Computing Center to draft a proposal for a terminal-oriented, timesharing operating system that would allow users to interact with their programs and receive immediate results.1

The Computing Center staff took their timesharing proposal to IBM which led, after a period of close collaboration, to the development of a one-of-a-kind IBM System 360/66M computer ('M' for 'Michigan'). The Computing Center entered into an agreement with IBM to assist in development of the Time Sharing System (TSS), an operating system that would take advantage of the multi-processing features of the 360/67. When project delays prevented IBM from delivering software to support the new hardware's timesharing capability, Michael T. Alexander and Donald W. Boettner led the development of an in-house timesharing operating system, the Michigan Terminal System (MTS). The low level supervisor or kernel of the system was the UM Multiprogramming Supervisor (UMMPS) which controlled the execution of multiple instances of "job programs," one of which was MTS which made timesharing possible.

MTS was released to the UM campus in May, 1967 and the first remote connections were established at the Dearborn campus in 1969.. The Computing Center's facilities in the North University Building were remodeled and expanded several times between 1959 and 1968 to accommodate new machines and greatly increased demand for services. Construction of a new building on North Campus began in 1969 and the Computing Center moved to the new facility in April, 1971. The North University Building facilities were converted to a faculty/student computing site with remote terminal connections to the mainframe on North Campus. Other computing sites were later established at the Michigan Union and other campus locations. By 1970 the system could support 58 simultaneous users on nearly 200 terminals providing access to MTS on the UM campus and from other universities. While MTS had little difficulty responding to requests for 100,000 jobs per month or more, such demands were growing beyond the capacity of the IBM 360/67 computers on which it ran. The Computing Center preferred the superior speed, reliability, and lower cost of the compatible Amdahl 470V/6 computer. U-M was the first university to use the Amdahl computer, installing serial number P2 during the summer of 1975. Other universities soon migrated to Amdahl and these systems (470V/6, 470V/7, 470V/8, and 5860, running the MTS operating system) would remain a part of the UM computing infrastructure through the mid-1980s.

In addition to the University of Michigan and the University of British Columbia, there were five other member institutions of the MTS Consortium: the University of Alberta, Wayne State University, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Simon Fraser University, and NUMAC ("Northumbrian Universities Multiple Access Computer," a collaboration among the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Durham University, and Newcastle Polytechnic). Each of the member institutions played a significant part in the development of MTS, particularly in the design, implementation, and testing of features and services. Other notable users of MTS included Michigan State University, Hewlett-Packard, and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

In the early 1970s a parallel initiative, the Michigan Educational Research Information Triad (MERIT) linked the computer systems of the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University. The MERIT network was independent of MTS, but in practice the two projects were closely associated, and the University of Michigan provided all hosting and staff support for the new network. By the late 1970s, MERIT had begun to expand to other Michigan universities as part of its mission to provide advanced and expensive computer resources to smaller institutions that could not otherwise afford them. Services provided by the MERIT network would include access to the Telnet network by 1976 as well as access to the internet in 1985. Communication processing technology developed for MERIT would lead to the creation of UMnet in 1983.

MTS also provided innovative services. In 1975 graduate student Robert Parnes created CONFER, an early conferencing system for private electronic mail exchange, open or invitation-only group discussion on MTS and on other systems linked to MTS via the Merit network. Email service to remote users on other systems was added in September 1983 when MTS joined the MAILNET project, a joint effort by sixteen universities and EDUCOM (the precursor to EDUCAUSE). The increasing popularity of microcomputers in the early 1980s also led the Computing Center staff to develop programs which would allow the use of Apple II and IBM PC computers as terminals on the MTS system.

The development of popular features, such as remote access from other networks, added to the growing demand placed on MTS by students and faculty. In 1985, a second system was secured for the increased use. This second system was named "UB" or "U-Blue" to distinguish it from the first system, which was retroactively designated "UM" or "U-Maize." A third MTS system was created for the UM Department of Human Genetics.

By the 1980s, the introduction of personal computers led to a movement away from centralized, mainframe computing towards a more distributed computing environment. The increasing popularity of microcomputers coupled with other trends in computer technology during that time eventually led to the replacement of MTS largely by Unix-based networked servers with TCP/IP support for internet connectivity. Phase out of MTS, the heart of the university's academic computing system for more than two decades, began in the late 1980s and end-user support ended in June 1996; the UM systems themselves were shut down on May 30, 1997. The last member of the MTS Consortium to have an MTS system in operation was Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, which shut down its system in June 1999.

In 1985 the Computing Center was merged into the Information Technology Division, a new unit created in 1984 to focus on network development, provide support for microcomputers, and orient users to a networked environment. In what was considered a "major appointment," Douglas Van Houweling became University of Michigan vice provost for information technology, a newly created position, and the head of the new unit.

ITD's organizational structure in 1985 included the Computing Center, the Office of Administrative Systems, the Center for Information Technology Integration, and the Office of Instructional Technology. Carolyn Autrey-Hunley served as Computing Center director after Aaron Finerman's retirement in 1986 until 1990, when Computing Center functions were absorbed into a new ITD administrative structure made up of the following units: Resource Administration, Networking Systems, Research Systems, Instructional Technology Systems, and the Assistance and Support Center.

• 1959 - 1978 : Robert F. C. Bartels
• 1978 - 1986 : Aaron Finerman
• 1986 - 1990 : Carolyn Autrey-Hunley

From the guide to the Computing Center (University of Michigan) records, 1952-1996, 1959-1987, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)