Erna Schneider Hoover
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Erna Schneider Hoover (born June 19, 1926) is an American mathematician notable for inventing a computerized telephone switching method which "revolutionized modern communication" according to several reports. It prevented system overloads by monitoring call center traffic and prioritizing tasks on phone switching systems to enable more robust service during peak calling times. At
Bell Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial research and scientific development company owned by mult ...
where she worked for over 32 years, Hoover was described as an important pioneer for women in the field of computer technology.


Early life

Erna Schneider was born on June 19, 1926, in
Irvington, New Jersey Irvington is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 61,176. The township had the ninth-highest property tax rate in New Jersey, with an equalized rate of 4.890% in 2020, compared to 2.82 ...
. Her family lived in South Orange, New Jersey and her father was a dentist and her mother was a teacher. She had a younger brother who died from
polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
at the age of five. She loved swimming, sailing, canoeing, and was interested in science at an early age. According to one source, she read the biography of
Marie Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...
which suggested to her that she could succeed in a scientific field despite the prevailing ideas about gender roles at the time. She graduated from
Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...
in nearby Maplewood in 1944, which would later induct her into its hall of fame in 2007. Hoover attended Wellesley College where she studied classical and medieval philosophy and history. She graduated from Wellesley in 1948 with honors, earning a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
, and she was inducted into
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
and was honored as a ''Durant Scholar''. She earned her PhD from
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
in philosophy and foundations of mathematics in 1951.


Career

Hoover was a professor at Swarthmore College from 1951 to 1954 where she taught philosophy and
logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...
. However, she had been unable to win a tenure-track position, possibly because of her gender and
marital status Civil status, or marital status, are the distinct options that describe a person's relationship with a significant other. ''Married'', '' single'', ''divorced'', and ''widowed'' are examples of civil status. ''Civil status'' and ''marital stat ...
, according to one view. In 1953, she married Charles Wilson Hoover, Jr., and he was very supportive of his wife's career pursuits. In 1954, she joined Bell Labs as a senior technical associate, and was promoted in 1956. According to one source, the internal training program was the "equivalent of a master's degree in computer science." Switching systems were moving from electronic to computer-based technologies. Problems happened when a call center would be inundated with thousands of calls in a short amount of time, overwhelming the unreliable electronic relays, and causing the entire system to "freeze up." Hoover used her knowledge of symbolic logic and feedback theory to program the control mechanisms of a call center to use data about incoming calls to impose order on the whole system. It used computer electronic methods to monitor the frequency of incoming calls at different times. Her method gave priority to processes that were concerned with the input and output of the switch over processes that were less important such as record keeping and billing. The computer, as a result, would adjust the call center's acceptance rate automatically, greatly reducing the overloading problem. The system became known as stored program control. Hoover's thinking about the invention happened while she was in a hospital recuperating after having given birth to her second daughter, according to several sources. Lawyers for Bell Labs handling the patent had to go to her house to visit her while she was on maternity leave so that she could sign the papers. The result of the invention was much more robust service to callers during peak load times: For her invention, termed ''Feedback Control Monitor for Stored Program Data Processing System'', Hoover was awarded patent #3,623,007 in November 1971, one of the first software patents ever issued. The patent was applied for in 1967 and issued in 1971.Se
Patent #3623007 November 23, 1971
/ref> As a result of her invention, she became the first woman supervisor of a technical department at
Bell Labs Nokia Bell Labs, originally named Bell Telephone Laboratories (1925–1984), then AT&T Bell Laboratories (1984–1996) and Bell Labs Innovations (1996–2007), is an American industrial Research and development, research and scientific developm ...
. She headed the operations support department in 1987. The principles of her invention are still being used in telecommunications equipment in the 21st century. Hoover worked on various high-level applications such as research radar control programs of the Safeguard Anti-Ballistic Missile System, which were systems to intercept incoming intercontinental ballistic missile warheads. Her department worked on
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech r ...
methods, large databases, and transactional software to support large telephone networks. She worked at Bell Labs for 32 years until retiring in 1987. In addition, she served on the boards of higher education organizations in New Jersey. As a member of the board of Trustees of
The College of New Jersey The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is a public university in Ewing Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Established in 1855 as the New Jersey State Normal School, TCNJ was the first normal school, or ...
, she was described as a visionary who was instrumental in increasing women faculty as well as enrolling the "best prepared high school graduates" in the state, and she helped build the college into a respected institution of
higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...
by lobbying extensively for state funding.


Awards

She was awarded one of the first patents for computer software. She was elected as a member of the
National Inventors Hall of Fame The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) is an American not-for-profit organization, founded in 1973, which recognizes individual engineers and inventors who hold a U.S. patent of significant technology. Besides the Hall of Fame, it also oper ...
in 2008. She received the Wellesley College alumni achievement award.


References


External links


Biography of Hoover from the Lemelson-MIT Program

Biography of Hoover from the Engineering and Technology History Wiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoover, Erna Schneider 1926 births Living people 20th-century American inventors Women inventors American women engineers Scientists at Bell Labs Wellesley College alumni Yale University alumni Columbia High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Irvington, New Jersey 21st-century American women