Howard George Willis Ware (August 31, 1920 – November 22, 2013), popularly known as Willis Howard Ware was an American computer pioneer who co-developed the IAS machine that laid down the blueprint of the modern day computer in the late 20th century. He was also a pioneer of privacy rights, social critic of technology policy, and a founder in the field of

computer security Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, th ...

.Rand Corporation
Willis Ware, Computer Pioneer, Helped Build Early Machines and Warned About Security Privacy
at rand.org. Nov 27, 2013.

Biography

As an undergraduate, Ware read

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

at the

Moore School The Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania came into existence as a result of an endowment from Alfred Fitler Moore on June 4, 1923. It was granted to Penn's School of Electrical Engineering, located in the Towne ...

of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

. He completed his master's degree in the same subject at MIT, in 1942. During World War II, Ware worked for the

Hazeltine Corporation Hazeltine Corporation was a defense electronics company which is now part of BAE Systems Inc. History 1924–1986 The company was founded in 1924 by investors to exploit the Neutrodyne patent of Dr. Louis Alan Hazeltine. Headquartered in Gr ...

(1942–1946) on classified military projects. After the war (1946–1951), he joined the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

to work with

John von Neumann John von Neumann (; hu, Neumann János Lajos, ; December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist, engineer and polymath. He was regarded as having perhaps the widest cove ...

on building an early computer.J Markoff, ''Willis Ware, 93, engineer at dawn of computer age''. NYT, December 3, 2013: page B17. After completing his PhD there, he moved to

North American Aviation North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included: the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F ...

(1951–1952), helped to move the aviation industry from punch-card machines to early computers, and in 1952 began teaching a class in computing at the UCLA Extension Division; it continued for 12 years. In 1952 he joined the

RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...

, where he stayed until 1992. He was an early design engineer on the RAND JOHNNIAC computer. In 1961, he was the founding president of the

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 ...

, an early technical computing society. Ware predicted that increased reliance on computers would create new privacy issues, and in 1972 he chaired the Department of Health, Education and Welfare's Special Advisory Committee on Automated Personal Data Systems, which developed policy recommendations including the Code of Fair Information Practice that significantly influenced the

Privacy Act of 1974 The Privacy Act of 1974 (, ), a United States federal law, establishes a Code of Fair Information Practice that governs the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information about individuals that is maintained ...

. He continued to study and write about privacy for many years. Ware influenced many aspects of computing including the initiation and direction of one of the first computing courses, at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

and authored some of the first textbooks in the field of computer security. In addition, he chaired several influential studies, including one in 1967 that produced a groundbreaking and transformational report to the Defense Science Board for ARPA (now

DARPA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adv ...

) that was known thereafter as "the Ware report". The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

Data Protection Directive The Data Protection Directive, officially Directive 95/46/EC, enacted in October 1995, is a European Union directive which regulates the processing of personal data within the European Union (EU) and the free movement of such data. The Data Pro ...

was strongly influenced by his research. Ware died at his home in Santa Monica, California in 2013.

Professional activities

Ware was an active and influential member of many industry organizations including: *Chair of the

Institute of Radio Engineers The Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) was a professional organization which existed from 1912 until December 31, 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) to form the Institute of Electrical ...

(IRE) Group on Computers (1958 - 1959) *Founding President of the

(1961) *Chair of the Advisory Committee on Automated Personal Data Systems for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (no
HHS
(1972) *Vice Chair of the IFIP TC 11 (1985-1994) *Founding Chair of the Information System and Privacy Advisory Board (1987 - 1998) *US Air Force Scientific Advisory Board *NSA Scientific Advisory Board *Member of the

Electronic Privacy Information Center Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is an independent nonprofit research center in Washington, D.C. EPIC's mission is to focus public attention on emerging privacy and related human rights issues. EPIC works to protect privacy, freedom o ...

(EPIC) Advisory Board *Member of 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 o ...

Awards and honors

;Fellowships *National Fellow of

Tau Beta Pi The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown ...

(1941-1942) *Fellow of the AAAS *Fellow of the

IEEE 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 operatio ...

*Fellow of the IRE (1962) *Fellow of the ACM (1994) ;Awards *Achievement Award, Los Angeles Chapter, IRE (1957) *Distinguished Service Award, AMPS (1963) *Computer Sciences Man of the Year, Data Processing Management Association (1975) * USAF Exceptional Civilian Service Medal (1979) *

IEEE Centennial Medal The IEEE Centennial Medal was a medal minted and awarded in 1984 ''to persons deserving of special recognition for extraordinary achievement'' to celebrate the Centennial of the founding of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ...

(1984) *Distinguished Service Award, AMPS (1986) *National Computer System Security Award (1989) * IEEE Computer Pioneer Award (1993)
NIST/NSA National Computer System Security Award
(1989)
IFIP Kristian Beckman Award
(1999) *Lifetime Achievement Award from the

(2012) *Inductee into the Cyber Security Hall of Fame (2013)

Publications

Ware authored over 70 publications over the course of his professional career. * RAND and the Information Evolution: A History in Essays and Vignettes - 2008 * Security in Computing - 2002 (foreword). * The Cyber-Posture of the National Information Infrastructure - 1998 * New Vistas on Info-Systems Security - 1997 * Privacy and Security Policy Choices in a National Information Infrastructure Environment - 1996 * A Retrospective on the Criteria Movement - 1995 * Policy Considerations for Data Networks - 1994 * Privacy Dimensions of Medical Record Keeping - 1994 * Statement on Escrowed Key Proposals Presented to the Subcommittee on Technology, Environment, and Aviation, U.S. House of Representatives - 1994 * Cyberspace security and safety - 1993 * The new faces of privacy - 1993 * Perspectives on trusted computer systems - 1988 * Survivability Issues and USAFE Policy - 1988 * Computer security policy issues: from past toward the future - 1987 * A Perspective on the USAFE Collocated Operating Base System - 1986 * Emerging privacy issues - 1985 * Technological perspectives for air base communications - 1985 * Base communications issues for the 1980s - 1984 * Information and communications protection - 1984 * Information systems : the challenge of the future for the Air Force Communications Command - 1984 * Information Systems, Security, and Privacy - 1983 * Perspectives on Oversight Management of Software Development Projects - 1983 * Avionics software: where are we? - 1982 * Information Policy: Thoughts for the 80's - 1982 * Information technology, crime and the law - 1982 * Security, privacy, and national vulnerability - 1981 * A taxonomy for privacy - 1981 * Security and privacy in the 80s - 1980 * Computer security in civil government and industry - 1979 * Security Controls for Computer Systems: Report of Defense Science Board Task Force on Computer Security - 1979 * Computers and personal privacy - 1977 * Computer technology: for beffter or worse? - 1977 * Federal and state regulations concerning the privacy of health care data - 1977 * Privacy and patient rights - 1977 * Privacy—handling personal data - 1977 * Privacy Issues in the Private Sector - 1977 * Public policy aspects for an information age - 1977 * Testimony before the House Subcommittee on Communications hearings: impact of telecommunications technology on the right to privacy - 1977 * The Computer Resources Management Study - 1976 * Privacy and Security Issues in Information Systems - 1976 * Privacy aspects of health statistics - 1976 * Privacy Issues and the Private Sector. - 1976 * Project RAND and Air Force Decisionmaking - 1976 * State of the Privacy Act: An Overview of Technological and Social Science Developments. - 1976 * Testimony before the National Commission of Electronic Fund Transfers. - 1976 * The Computer Resource Management Study: Executive Summary - 1975 * Legislative Issues Surrounding the Confidentiality of Health Records. - 1975 * Privacy and Security in Computer Systems - 1975 * Privacy: The Private Sector and Society's Needs. - 1975 * Computer Privacy and Computer Security. - 1974 * A Proposed Strategy for the Acquisition of Avionics Equipment - 1974 * Remarks—Seminar for Directors of Academic Computing Services. - 1974 * Computers and Society: The Technological Setting. - 1973 * Computers, Personal Privacy and Human Choice. - 1973 * Data Banks, Privacy, and Society - 1973 * Records, Computers and the Rights of Citizens - 1973 * Testimony to the Assembly Committee on Efficiency and Cost Control. - 1973 * The Ultimate Computer. - 1972 * Computers in Society's Future. - 1971 * Limits in Computing Power. - 1971 * Computer Data Banks and Security Controls. - 1970 * On Limits in Computing Power. - 1969 * Testimony Before the Assembly Statewide Information Policy Committee. - 1969 * The Computer in Your Future - 1967 * Security and Privacy in Computer Systems. - 1967 * Future Computer Technology and Its Impact - 1966 * Johnniac Eulogy - 1966 * Soviet Cybernetics Technology: V. Soviet Process Control Computers. - 1965 * The Programmer in a Changing World. - 1963 * Soviet Cybernetics Technology: II. General Characteristics of Several Soviet Computers - 1963 * Soviet Cybernetics Technology: III, Programming Elements of the BESM, STRELA, Ural, M-3, and Kiev Computers. - 1963 * Soviet Cybernetics Technology: I. Soviet Cybernetics, 1959-1962. - 1963 * The Evolution of Concepts and Languages of Computing. - 1962 * Soviet Computer Technology - 1959 - 1960 * The History and Development of the Electronic Computer Project at the Institute for Advanced Study - 1953 * The Logical Principles of a New Kind of Binary Counter - 1953

External links

Oral history interview with Willis H. Ware
(1981).

Charles Babbage Institute The IT History Society (ITHS) is an organization that supports the history and scholarship of information technology by encouraging, fostering, and facilitating archival and historical research. Formerly known as the Charles Babbage Foundati ...

, University of Minnesota. Primarily devoted to Ware's work on the Institute for Advanced Study computer project in the late 1940s. Ware details the contributions of Jule Gregory Charney,

, Herman Goldstine, and others. Ware also relates his move to the

.
Oral history interview with Willis H. Ware
(2003).

, University of Minnesota. Discusses the history of computer science at

and other topics. This includes the transition of RAND to digital computing with the ohnniacproject. Ware also talks about his work and leadership in organizations such as

Association for Computing Machinery The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is a US-based international learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 and is the world's largest scientific and educational computing society. The ACM is a non-profit professional membe ...

and AFIPS, as well as on the issues of computer security and privacy with the Ware Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Computer Security, HEW's Advisory Committee on Automated Personal Data, and the Privacy Protection Study Commission.

References