Wearing headphones and leaning over a microphone, School of Engineering and Applied Science Dean Gregory Farrington introduced a live WXPN-FM radio broadcast from the ENIAC museum in the Moore Building Tuesday. In a precursor to yesterday's ENIAC 50th anniversary celebration, WXPN, the University's only licensed radio station, dedicated a one-hour program to honor the first multi-purpose computer. Hosted by WXPN disc jockeys Michaela Majoun and Bob Bumbera, the show focused on the historical and cultural aspects of the invention. Sitting in a circle, Majoun, Bumbera, Farrington and Engineering Assistant Dean Steve Brown began the broadcast with a brief description of ENIAC and a discussion of plans for the celebration. "I thought we ought to do something [to celebrate the 50-year anniversary]," Farrington said. "Looking back down, I should have taken an aspirin." On a more serious note, Farrington added that ENIAC was the first entirely electronic device able to solve many kinds of problems. The show, entitled "ENIAC Past, Present and Future," also concentrated on ENIAC's legacy. "We too have the opportunity to make innovations," Brown said, adding that people should recognize that they may not be using technology to its full potential. Brown explained that ENIAC not only changed the world of electrical engineering, but also created a field of opportunity for women, who became programmers -- instead of only working with calculators. Off the air, Farrington and Brown said that although the invention was welcomed with a great deal of excitement, no one envisioned the revolutionary impact of ENIAC on all walks of life. They commented that ENIAC started the information age and that, at first, it was only used to generate the U.S. Army's firing tables. Back on the air, Majoun interviewed Herman Goldstine,who worked on the original ENIAC project and got the funding from the Army. He said ENIAC's inventors thought it would be useful only in laboratories and for scientific research. Goldstine said working on ENIAC was very exciting. "We had great time, we lived day and night, seven days a week, with this thing," he said. ENIAC Museum Curator Paul Shaffer also described the display in the basement of the Moore Building, which includes 1/12th of the original ENIAC. He noted that the public is invited to attend organized daily tours of the ENIAC exhibits. According to Shaffer, Goldstine's book, The Computer From Pascal to Von Neumann, had a great influence on his design of the museum. Off the air, he added that the book has a biased view in favor of the University. "I like his view," Shaffer said. Toward the end of the program, WXPN disc jockey Chuck Van Zyl, who hosts a show called "Star's End," played futuristic music via a computer. Peter Cook, also a WXPN disc jockey, noted that he will be giving a free class in the ENIAC museum in the future. He said computers will eventually become "faster, smoother and more accessible." According to Cook, people who are still afraid of computers should regard it as a tool, without personifying it. Everyone participating in the live broadcast agreed that it went smoothly and said they hoped they conveyed the importance of the celebration. "It was great," Majoun said. "I wish I had had more time. I am one of those people who is really afraid of computers, but this is really exciting."
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