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Looming Influence: A signed, unpublished manuscript written by Joseph Marie Jacquard in 1809 details the development, operation, and uses of the Jacquard attachment for a loom, which allowed automatic control of all the actions required to weave complex patterned fabrics. Such modified looms could be programmed with chains of punch cards. Apart from its significant impact on the 19th-century textile industry, the idea of programming devices with punch cards influenced computer pioneers.

In the beginning, there was paper. A whole lot of it. Today’s electronic, cybernetic, digital world had its genesis in books and journals, reports and memos, and even some hand-typed pages, many of them dating from the decades between 1930 and 1960.

This past February, the biggest private collection of this paper went up for sale at Christie’s auction house in New York City. From the early mechanical calculators of the 17th century through the birth of electronic computing during World War II up to the founding of the Internet in the 1970s, some of the most important documents in the history of computing and telecommunications went under the gavel.

Before the auction, the general public could visit the collection and even handle many of the items—albeit under the watchful eyes of Christie’s staff. Visitors could leaf through an unpublished 1809 manuscript on the influential Jacquard loom (punch cards were used to program the loom to weave patterns) written by Joseph Marie Jacquard himself [ See Figure]; a signed first edition of Karel Capek’s R.U.R.: Rossum’s Universal Robots, the 1920 play that coined the term robot; or Norbert Wiener’s own first-edition copy of his 1948 book [Cybernetics], heavily annotated by Wiener with corrections for the second edition.

The auction itself found the collection’s owner and seller, , a bespectacled bookseller based in Novato, Calif., sitting nervously in front of the auctioneer’s podium. Norman is an oddity: a professional rare-book dealer, with a history degree, who can sift through circuit schematics and faded equations and discern the work of genius.

“No other individual has ever tried to collect the origins of electronic computing,” Norman says, and indeed, February’s auction was the first high-profile sale of a significant amount of such literature. Although Norman knew little about technology, he explained that he was inspired to start collecting related items when in “1970 or 1971, I was in New York, and at the time IBM had an office on Park Avenue with a history wall on display.”

The history wall, a mosaic of reproduced documents and images, inspired Norman to purchase some rare mathematical tables printed on an early calculating machine for US $22.50. As the years went by, Norman continued buying computing-related items, mostly from the 19th century and earlier. Eventually, when this first collection grew to about 150 pieces, he sold it, in 1994.

But Norman still had the computer bug, and in 1998 he decided to start over, building up a huge library of some 1000 items. Now he was back in New York City, with his collection divided up into 255 lots. The auction had attracted considerable international publicity, especially among the digerati, but Norman knew the potential bidders that were filtering in to take their seats were going to be a tough crowd.

It was a chicken-and-egg situation: rare-book dealers and collectors didn’t usually buy computer-related material, because without a market for it already in existence, there was no way to gauge its value. Norman was hoping to break the logjam.

“The book business in general is one of ‘follow the leader,’” Norman says. “Collectors and dealers are always chasing the same titles. The only books on computing you normally see are books by John Napier that were published in the 17th century. That’s how backward the market is,” explains Norman. The technical nature of the collection was Norman’s biggest problem. How could he get collectors who weren’t computer engineers to understand, say, the value of Claude E. Shannon’s 1937 master’s thesis, which proved that electronic circuits could be used to do logical and mathematical operations, thereby laying the cornerstone of electronic computing?

Norman’s answer was to write and self-publish, with his business associate Diana Hook, Origins of Cyberspace, a book that cataloged his library and explained each item’s significance. “Since most other collectors are following the leader, I thought to write a bibliography and create a framework for other people,” says Norman. Released in 2002 at $500 per copy, the book wasn’t exactly Book-of-the-Month Club material, but Norman hoped it might guide other collectors, and he decided it was time to start trying to sell the collection and get a return on the money spent accumulating it. (Norman wouldn’t say how much he had spent purchasing items for the collection.)

Now, on this cold, bright morning, it was the moment of truth. Bidders were given white paddles with three-digit numbers printed on them. Bidders who could not attend in person or who desired maximum privacy were connected to the auction through a squadron of sharply dressed Christie’s employees glued to banks of phones along the walls.

Despite Norman’s carefully planned strategy, the bidders in the room seemed a little nonplussed by the collection. The first two items failed to sell. Finally, a 17th-century book about a mechanical calculator went for $4800, about twice the valuation in the auction catalog (prices quoted include Christie’s 20 percent surcharge). Other items from the 17th and 18th centuries quickly sold, but the 19th century threw a wrench into the works, with the debut publication of the designer of the first real computer, Charles Babbage, left unsold. Then another work by Babbage fetched $38 400—three times the catalog estimate.

The auction continued in much the same hot-and-cold fashion. A confidential 1948 Progress Report on the Automatic Computing Engine that included source code for programs written by Alan Turing—one of the founders of computer science—failed to sell, while volume 57 of Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, from 1938, which published Shannon’s master’s thesis, sold for $15 600. (The American Institute of Electrical Engineers was a predecessor of the IEEE.)

But when it came to the auction’s star attraction, the booksellers were brushed aside. Lot 238 comprised eight sheets of dog-eared typewritten paper with a typo in the title: “Outline of Plans for Development of Electronic Computors [ sic].” Written in 1946 by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, coinventors of the seminal ENIAC computer, the “Outline” is the founding document of the commercial computer industry. It is the business plan for the first computer company, the Electronic Control Co., and includes a list of potential customers and uses for computers. The ECC was later bought up by Remington Rand Inc. and would go on to produce the influential Univac computer, which brought computing into businesses and governments around the world.

As the bidding kicked off on , one person repeatedly raised a paddle, quickly outbidding everyone in the room. The dealers and collectors who had been bidding throughout the auction, and who generally recognized each other, twisted in their seats trying to make out an unfamiliar man and woman sitting together near the back. “Who are those people?” muttered one. But any computer historian would have recognized the man: Mitchell Kapor, founder of Lotus Development Corp., cofounder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and currently chair of the nonprofit Open Source Applications Foundation. Kapor is one of the original computer-software millionaires minted in the 1980s, now given to philanthropy.

Soon Kapor was bidding against only one other, a phone-in bidder known as 851. But Kapor was not to be beaten. Bidder 851 folded, and the software magnate snapped up the “Outline”—for a princely $72 000, or $9000 per page. Afterward, Kapor stated he simply had a list of lots he liked, with the criterion being that “each item had some personal resonance.” It wasn’t too surprising to find Eckert and Mauchly’s plan on a wish list belonging to the founder of a famously successful computer software company. Asked what he thought of the business merits of the “Outline,” Kapor told IEEE Spectrum that Eckert and Mauchly “underestimated both the budget and the time to market pretty dramatically. But they nailed the idea there was a large market for computing devices. The plan was quite farsighted.”

For now, Kapor plans to put high-quality scans of the entire “Outline” online and is considering displaying it in the offices of the Open Source Applications Foundation, in San Francisco.

When the auction ended soon after, Norman shook Kapor’s hand and congratulated him on his “good taste.” The auction had fetched $714 000. Norman was philosophical about the outcome—only about half the items had sold, but those that were bought did well. “It’s a spotty result, but the highs were very good. Whenever you do something new, you don’t know what to expect.” Norman hopes that, now that he has shown there’s some life in the market, collectors may come forward individually to purchase unsold items from him. Having become something of an expert on the history of computers through his collecting, he plans to release a book on the subject targeted at a much more general audience than his first $500 tome.

“I did this as an adventure,” said Norman, “and it’s sent me down interesting paths.”

Startup TyFast aims for 3-minute charging, 20,000-cycle life

Prachi Patel is a freelance journalist based in Pittsburgh. She writes about energy, biotechnology, materials science, nanotechnology, and computing.

Startup Tyfast is making batteries based on a new anode material that allow it to charge in minutes and last for several thousands of charge cycles

To fulfill the vision of EVs that travel a thousand miles or phones that run for days on a single charge, most battery developers are racing to make batteries that can pack twice the energy in the same weight.

Not startup Tyfast, which is “approaching next-generation battery development in a counter-current direction,” says GJ la O’, CEO and cofounder of the 2021 spinoff from the University of California, San Diego.

The company wants to make a battery based on a new vanadium-based anode material that can charge in 3 minutes and run for 20,000 charging cycles at the expense of energy density, which la O’ says could be 80 to 90 percent that of present-day batteries. La O' and company cofounder and chief technical officer Haodong Liu plan to develop a commercial product with the help of a new Activate fellowship they were awarded in early June. “Our high-level focus is 20 times faster charging and 20 times longer life than today’s lithium batteries. We’re saying we’ll deliver the same runtime as the previous-generation device, but charge really, really fast such that you forget about the size and energy density.”

That compromise works for their intended always-on, high-utilization applications such as autonomous warehouse or delivery robots that need to work nearly 24/7. Tyfast’s battery could enable that with very short fast-charging stops.

“Today’s robot platforms have battery packs that run 8 to 10 hours,” he says. “If you have a faster-charging battery you could have a 4- to 5-hour battery pack. A smaller pack would mean the robot carries more load per trip so it would be more productive.”

The charge time of lithium-ion batteries is limited by how quickly lithium ions flow in and out of the anode. The graphite used typically for anodes now has a planar structure with ions slipping in between the layers.

Tyfast instead uses an anode made of lithium vanadium oxide, a material with a 3D crystal structure similar to table salt. Ions move through the crystals in three dimensions, enabling 10 times as fast transport as in graphite.

The LVO anode, first reported by UCSD nanoengineers and Tyfast cofounders Ping Liu and Shyue Ping Ong in 2020 in the journal Nature, also expands and contracts less than graphite when it charges and discharges. Graphite changes volume by up to 10 percent whereas LVO expands less than 2 percent. That translates to less mechanical and chemical damage of the anode, allowing longer battery life, la O’ explains. “Our technology is trying to overcome this material limitation that graphite has set.”

Graphite can, however, hold more ions than LVO by weight, giving a higher battery energy density. Several companies are developing nanoengineered silicon or lithium-metal anodes that would have twice the energy density of even graphite, in order to enable longer EV driving range. The challenge with those materials is also their very high volumetric expansion that can crack the anode.

Tyfast’s LVO anode might be more robust, but its higher cost could be its downside. It is almost twice as expensive as graphite at over US $20 per kilogram. A battery with an LVO anode and nickel-manganese-cobalt [NMC] cathode would be 30 to 50 percent more expensive than a graphite-NMC cell, says la O’. But LVO’s longer life could make up for its higher cost. “If you were to use it in an always-on application like autonomous robots, LVO lasts longer, so you’re at a lower cost per charging cycle,” he adds.

Before robots, the company is initially targeting the wearables market. It has several customers lined up, la O’ says, including a major consumer-electronics brand. In its laboratory, it is building batteries the size of credit cards and sugar packets. These prototypes use LVO anodes and commercial NMC cathodes and electrolytes so far last for over 2,000 charge cycles and charge in under 15 minutes.

By the end of the year, the team plans to reach 20,000 cycles and under 3-minute charging. “The vision is consumer-electronics devices that get you back to life faster with a Tyfast battery,” he says. “If you take a coffee break, by the time you’re done with your cup, your device is fully charged.”

Kids can build robots, write code, and design video games

Kathy Pretz is editor in chief for The Institute, which covers all aspects of IEEE, its members, and the technology they're involved in. She has a bachelor's degree in applied communication from Rider University, in Lawrenceville, N.J., and holds a master's degree in corporate and public communication from Monmouth University, in West Long Branch, N.J.

These youngsters are checking out one of their local library’s IEEE-funded science activity kits.

More than 150 public libraries throughout the central United States now lend out activity kits that let children explore just about any aspect of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The kids can check them out just like they would a book. The kits teach youngsters what engineers do, as well as how to code, build robots, design video games, and create animations.

The collections have been made possible by the IEEE Region 4 Science Kits for Public Libraries program with funding from Region 4 members and corporate sponsors. The SKPL program is the brainchild of IEEE Life Senior Member John A. Zulaski, the chair of the SKPL committee.

Activity kits aren’t new to libraries, but STEM kits didn’t exist 10 years ago. Nowadays large, well-funded libraries might have them, but that’s not the case for many small and midsize ones, Zulaski says.

He says he is on a mission to encourage other IEEE entities to make the kits available at local libraries. Only public libraries in IEEE Region 4 currently are eligible for an SKPL grant.

“This is the perfect project for IEEE life members or young professionals to undertake,” Zulaski says. “The kits get kids interested in pursuing a technical career—which, by the way, helps increase IEEE membership down the road.”

Currently all 80 branches of the Chicago Public Library have the kits, as do libraries in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

After Zulaski retired as director of electronic products at S&C Electric, in Chicago, he became a trustee for his local library, in Mount Prospect, Ill. During his visits there, he noticed cloth bags filled with puzzles and other activities, but none were specific to STEM. He recalled the wonderful experiences he had as a child playing with Erector sets, Lincoln Logs, and other activity kits, and he realized many children today are not so fortunate. In 2009 he talked to the library’s executive director, Marilyn Genther, about creating science kits that could be circulated. She was interested but said she didn’t have the US $2,000 in her budget she estimated it would take to create such a collection.

Zulaski ran the idea past the IEEE Chicago Section, which agreed to provide funding. Assembled by youth librarians and IEEE volunteers, 12 kits were created for children in Grades 1 through 5. They included hands-on off-the-shelf STEM projects, instructions written by the librarians, and a recommended list of books, DVDs, videos, and other reference material from the library, Genther says. All the items were stowed in backpacks.

Genther says having libraries offer the kits makes a lot of sense. There is no curriculum for students to follow, so they can learn at their own pace and pick topics they find interesting.

“The kits get into the hands of children who may not have an opportunity to learn about STEM otherwise,” she says. Genther has since retired and is now a member of the IEEE SKPL committee.

Zulaski says the prototype kits were flying off the shelves—which persuaded the IEEE Chicago Section to launch the SKPL project in 2010. Through the generosity of the section’s members and a few corporate donors, more than 25 libraries in the Chicago area began circulating the science kits.

The kits get into the hands of children who may not have an opportunity to learn about STEM otherwise.

Kids aren’t the only ones checking out the collections. Teachers, Boy Scout leaders, parents who homeschool their children, and libraries that have in-house STEM programs do as well.

The kits are tailored to the needs of the local children, Zulaski says.

“We decided early on that we did not want to dictate to the libraries what should be in their kits,” he says. “They are in a better position to make that determination because they can look at their records on STEM-related books that have been checked out and see what subjects seem to be most popular.”

In 2011 the project received funding from the IEEE Foundation and the IEEE Life Members Committee to enable 26 libraries in the Midwest to build science kit collections.

The SKPL committee set up a formal application process for granting money to libraries. The number of libraries applying for SKPL grants has grown. This year the committee has received 79 applications, up from 40 last year. It awarded 15 grants of up to $2,000.

In a testimonial about the SKPL grant received by the Batavia Public Library, in Illinois, its youth services librarian, Amanda Vanderwerf, said, “The deeper understanding that comes from sustained engagement with these kits is something we are proud to offer to our patrons, and we thank you for this opportunity. The Batavia community, the library staff, and especially the youth services department thanks IEEE for allowing us to be part of this fantastic opportunity to create circulating science kits.”

S&C Electric made a substantial donation to provide SKPL collections to the entire Chicago Public Library system. The company also makes an annual donation to maintain the existing kits and add new ones to the collection. Other corporate donors include American Transmission, Eaton, Elite Electronics, Emerson Electric, and Milwaukee Tool. IEEE-USA, the IEEE Professional Activities Committee, and the IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility Society’s Chicago chapter also have donated money.

With cash Zulaski received in 2015 from the IEEE New Initiatives Committee , the SKPL committee created a marketing campaign to promote the project, developed fundraising initiatives, and built its website.

The 2023 submission period for SKPL grant applications period begins 1 November 2022 and closes 15 January.

Zulaski says Region 4 members are making their libraries aware of the opportunity. He says he hopes that by this time next year, other IEEE groups will be offering grants. To help make that happen, funding is being sought to create a toolkit to train other IEEE entities how to implement their own SKPL program.

“Hopefully this can be accomplished by the end of this year, assuming major donors step forward,” Zulaski says. “There are around 10,000 public libraries in the United States alone and hundreds of thousands around the world. Much remains to be accomplished.”

If your IEEE entity is interested in offering the SKPL program, complete this form.

Donations to the program are welcome.

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