Hilary J. Kahn (1943–2007) was a South African British

computer scientist A computer scientist is a person who is trained in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation, as opposed to the hardware side on which computer engineers mainly focus (al ...

who spent most of her career as a professor at the University of Manchester, where she worked on

computer-aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

and

information modelling An information model in software engineering is a representation of concepts and the relationships, constraints, rules, and Operation (mathematics), operations to specify Semantic data model, data semantics for a chosen domain of discourse. Typical ...

. Kahn participated in the development of the

Manchester MU5 The Manchester computers were an innovative series of stored-program electronic computers developed during the 30-year period between 1947 and 1977 by a small team at the University of Manchester, under the leadership of Tom Kilburn. They inclu ...

computer. Later she became involved in standards development and was both the chair of the Technical Experts Group and a member of the Steering Committee for the development of the EDIF (Electronic Design Interchange Format) standard. Kahn retired from Manchester in 2006 and died in 2007.

Early life and education

Kahn was born in 1943 in Cape Town, South Africa and moved in 1960 to England; she said later that she did so to pursue her education and escape the politics of her native country. She attended the University of London and studied

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

, after which she attended a post-graduate diploma course in computing at the

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...

, where she was first exposed to working with the

English Electric KDF9 KDF9 was an early British 48-bit computer designed and built by English Electric (which in 1968 was merged into International Computers Limited (ICL)). The first machine came into service in 1964 and the last of 29 machines was decommissioned ...

computer and programming in ALGOL. She subsequently worked as a programmer at

English Electric N.º UIC: 9094 110 1449-3 (Takargo Rail) The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during th ...

Career and research

Kahn joined the

Computer Science Department A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations ( computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These pro ...

at the University of Manchester in 1967, appointed as an assistant lecturer based on her ability to teach

COBOL COBOL (; an acronym for "common business-oriented language") is a compiled English-like computer programming language designed for business use. It is an imperative, procedural and, since 2002, object-oriented language. COBOL is primarily us ...

. She has been cited as an example of how women with non-traditional backgrounds could enter early academic computer science by offering unusual specialised skills. Although Kahn never pursued a PhD, she was a

faculty member Academic personnel, also known as faculty member or member of the faculty (in North American usage) or academics or academic staff (in British, Australia, and New Zealand usage), are vague terms that describe teachers or research staff of a school ...

who supervised a number of PhD students; during her tenure she started the

(CAD) group at Manchester, worked on the

computer, and was extensively involved in standards development, most notably for the EDIF project. She collaborated with

Tom Kilburn Tom Kilburn (11 August 1921 – 17 January 2001) was an English mathematician and computer scientist. Over the course of a productive 30-year career, he was involved in the development of five computers of great historical significance. With ...

and wrote published several obituaries on him. Kahn was also active in preserving the history of early computing at Manchester and in 1998 organised a large-scale celebration ''Computer 50'' for the 50th anniversary of the Manchester Baby, the first stored-program computer, which was completed in 1948. Kahn retired from her faculty position in 2006.

Personal life

Kahn's husband Brian Napper was also a Manchester faculty member. The couple had one child, a daughter, born in 1977. Kahn died in November 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kahn, Hilary British computer scientists British women computer scientists 1943 births 2007 deaths South African emigrants to the United Kingdom People associated with the University of Manchester People from Cape Town 20th-century British women scientists 20th-century South African engineers