Frederick Phillips Brooks Jr. (April 19, 1931 – November 17, 2022) was an American computer architect, software engineer, and computer scientist, best known for managing the development of IBM's System/360 family of computers and the

OS/360 OS/360, officially known as IBM System/360 Operating System, is a discontinued batch processing operating system developed by IBM for their then-new System/360 mainframe computer, announced in 1964; it was influenced by the earlier IBSYS/IBJOB ...

software support package, then later writing candidly about the process in his seminal book ''

The Mythical Man-Month ''The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering'' is a book on software engineering and project management by Fred Brooks first published in 1975, with subsequent editions in 1982 and 1995. Its central theme is that adding manpower to a ...

''. In 1976, Brooks was elected as a member into the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

for "contributions to computer system design and the development of academic programs in computer sciences". Brooks received many awards, including the

National Medal of Technology The National Medal of Technology and Innovation (formerly the National Medal of Technology) is an honor granted by the President of the United States to American inventors and innovators who have made significant contributions to the development ...

in 1985 and the

Turing Award The ACM A. M. Turing Award is an annual prize given by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for contributions of lasting and major technical importance to computer science. It is generally recognized as the highest distinction in comput ...

in 1999.

Education

Born on April 19, 1931, in Durham, North Carolina, he attended Duke University, graduating in 1953 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

, and he received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemati ...

(

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...

) from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1956, supervised by

Howard Aiken Howard Hathaway Aiken (March 8, 1900 – March 14, 1973) was an American physicist and a pioneer in computing, being the original conceptual designer behind IBM's Harvard Mark I computer. Biography Aiken studied at the University of Wisconsi ...

. Brooks served as the graduate teaching assistant for Ken Iverson at Harvard's graduate program in "automatic data processing", the first such program in the world.

Career and research

Brooks joined IBM in 1956, working in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

, and

Yorktown, New York Yorktown is a town on the northern border of Westchester County, New York, United States. A suburb of the New York City metropolitan area, it is approximately north of midtown Manhattan. The population was 36,569 at the 2020 U.S. Census. Histo ...

. He worked on the architecture of the

IBM 7030 Stretch The IBM 7030, also known as Stretch, was IBM's first transistorized supercomputer. It was the fastest computer in the world from 1961 until the first CDC 6600 became operational in 1964."Designed by Seymour Cray, the CDC 6600 was almost three t ...

, a $10 million scientific supercomputer of which nine were sold, and the

IBM 7950 Harvest The IBM 7950, also known as Harvest, was a one-of-a-kind adjunct to the Stretch computer which was installed at the United States National Security Agency (NSA). Built by IBM, it was delivered in 1962 and operated until 1976, when it was decommi ...

computer for the National Security Agency. Subsequently, he became manager for the development of the IBM System/360 family of computers and the

software package. During this time he coined the term "

computer architecture In computer engineering, computer architecture is a description of the structure of a computer system made from component parts. It can sometimes be a high-level description that ignores details of the implementation. At a more detailed level, the ...

". In 1964, Brooks accepted an invitation to come to the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

and founded the University's computer science department. He chaired it for 20 years. he was still engaged in active research there, primarily in virtual environments and

scientific visualization Scientific visualization ( also spelled scientific visualisation) is an interdisciplinary branch of science concerned with the visualization of scientific phenomena. Michael Friendly (2008)"Milestones in the history of thematic cartography, s ...

. A few years after leaving IBM, he wrote ''

''. The seed for the book was planted by IBM's then-CEO

Thomas J. Watson Jr. Thomas John Watson Jr. (January 14, 1914 – December 31, 1993) was an American businessman, political figure, Army Air Forces pilot, and philanthropist. The son of IBM Corporation founder Thomas J. Watson, he was the second IBM president (195 ...

, who asked in Brooks's exit interview why it was so much harder to manage software projects than hardware projects. In this book, Brooks made the now-famous statement: "Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later", which has since come to be known as

Brooks's law Brooks' law is an observation about software project management according to which adding manpower to software project that is behind schedule delays it even longer.Frederick P. Brooks, Jr. '' The Mythical Man-Month''. 1995 975 Addison-Wesley. It ...

. In addition to ''The Mythical Man-Month'', Brooks is also known for the paper "No Silver Bullet – Essence and Accident in Software Engineering". In 2004 in a talk at the Computer History Museum and also in a 2010 interview in ''Wired'' magazine, Brooks was asked "What do you consider your greatest technological achievement?" Brooks responded, "The most important single decision I ever made was to change the IBM 360 series from a 6-

bit The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communications. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represente ...

byte The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable uni ...

to an 8-bit byte, thereby enabling the use of lowercase letters. That change propagated everywhere." A "20th anniversary" edition of ''The Mythical Man-Month'' with four additional chapters was published in 1995. As well as ''The Mythical Man-Month'', Brooks has authored or co-authored many books and

peer review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...

ed papers including ''Automatic Data Processing'', "

No Silver Bullet "No Silver Bullet—Essence and Accident in Software Engineering" is a widely discussed paper on software engineering written by Turing Award winner Fred Brooks in 1986. "No Silver Bullet—Essence and Accident in Software Engineering" Brooks argu ...

", ''Computer Architecture'', and '' The Design of Design''. His contributions to

human–computer interaction Human–computer interaction (HCI) is research in the design and the use of computer technology, which focuses on the interfaces between people (users) and computers. HCI researchers observe the ways humans interact with computers and design te ...

are described in

Ben Shneiderman Ben Shneiderman (born August 21, 1947) is an American computer scientist, a Distinguished University Professor in the University of Maryland Department of Computer Science, which is part of the University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathem ...

's HCI pioneers website.

Service and memberships

Brooks served on a number of US national boards and committees, including: * Defense Science Board (1983–86) * Member, Artificial Intelligence Task Force (1983–84) * Chairman, Military Software Task Force (1985–87) * Member, Computers in Simulation and Training Task Force (1986–87) *

National Science Board The National Science Board (NSB) of the United States establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation (NSF) within the framework of applicable national policies set forth by the President and the Congress. The NSB also serves as an ind ...

(1987–92)

Awards and honors

In chronological order: * Fellow, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (1968) * W. Wallace McDowell Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Computer Art, IEEE Computer Group (1970) * Computer Sciences Distinguished Information Services Award, Information Technology Professionals (1970) * Guggenheim Fellowship for studies on computer architecture and human factors of computer systems,

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, England (1975) * Member,

(1976) * Fellow,

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

(1976) * Computer Pioneer Award,

IEEE Computer Society The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...

(1982) * National Medal of Technology and Innovation (1985) * Thomas Jefferson Award,

(1986) * Distinguished Service Award, Association for Computing Machinery (1987) * Harry Goode Memorial Award,

American Federation of Information Processing Societies The American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) was an umbrella organization of professional societies established on May 10, 1961, and dissolved in 1990. Its mission was to advance knowledge in the field of information science, ...

(1989) * Foreign Member, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (1991) * Honorary Doctor of Technical Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich (1991) *

IEEE John von Neumann Medal The IEEE John von Neumann Medal was established by the IEEE Board of Directors in 1990 and may be presented annually "for outstanding achievements in computer-related science and technology." The achievements may be theoretical, technological, or ...

, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (1993) * Fellow (initial inductee), Association for Computing Machinery (1994) * Distinguished Fellow, British Computer Society (1994) * Foreign Member of the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK (1994) * Allen Newell Award, Association for Computing Machinery (1994) * Bower Award and Prize in Science, Franklin Institute (1995) * CyberEdge Journal Annual Sutherland Award (April 1997) *

, Association for Computing Machinery (1999) * Member, National Academy of Sciences (2001) * Received the Computer History Museum's Fellow Award, for his contributions to computer architecture, operating systems, and software engineering. (2001) *

Eckert–Mauchly Award The Eckert–Mauchly Award recognizes contributions to digital systems and computer architecture. It is known as the computer architecture community’s most prestigious award. First awarded in 1979, it was named for John Presper Eckert and Jo ...

, Association for Computing Machinery and The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers–Computer Society (2004) * IEEE Virtual Reality Career Award (2010) In January 2005, he gave the Turing Lecture on the subject of "Collaboration and Telecollaboration in Design".

Personal life

Brooks was an evangelical Christian who was active with

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is an inter-denominational, evangelical Christian campus ministry founded in 1941, working with students and faculty on U.S. college and university campuses. InterVarsity is a charter member of the Internat ...

.Faculty Biography
at UNC. Brooks married Nancy Lee Greenwood in 1956. They have three children. He named his eldest son after Kenneth E. Iverson. Brooks died on November 17, 2022, at age 91. He had been in poor health following a stroke.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Fred 1931 births 2022 deaths American computer scientists American software engineers American technology writers Virtual reality pioneers Fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery Fellows of the British Computer Society IBM employees IBM Research computer scientists Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences National Medal of Technology recipients Turing Award laureates University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences alumni Writers from Durham, North Carolina 20th-century American engineers 21st-century American engineers 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians 20th-century American scientists 21st-century American scientists Software engineering researchers American evangelicals