Howard T. Engstrom (1902 – 1962) was a

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

mathematics professor and headed research operations at the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

's Communication Supplementary Activities CSAW during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Along with William Norris and others he founded

Engineering Research Associates Engineering Research Associates, commonly known as ERA, was a pioneering computer firm from the 1950s. ERA became famous for their numerical computers, but as the market expanded they became better known for their drum memory systems. They were ev ...

in 1946. He was one of the co-creators of the Univac computer, and served as deputy director of the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

Education

Engstrom graduated with a bachelor's degree in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

from

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

in 1925, and received a master's from the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

in 1922, where he also worked as a mathematics instructor. He was announced as an Instructor of mathematics at Yale in 1927, received his PhD from Yale in 1929, and was promoted to associate professor in 1941. Engstrom "was a national research fellow at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

in 1930 and an international research fellow at Göttingen, Germany, in 1931". He was also a "fellow 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 a ...

and of Davenport College".

Military and professional career

Engstrom resigned from Yale to enter military service in 1941. He attained the rank of captain in the Navy and was awarded the

Distinguished Service Medal (United States Navy) The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to sailors and Marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritoriou ...

, the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

, the

Naval Reserve Medal The Naval Reserve Medal is a decoration of the United States Navy which was created by order of Secretary of the Navy Claude A. Swanson on 12 September 1938. The medal was first issued in 1938 and was an active award until 1958. On 12 September ...

, and a

Presidential Unit Citation (United States) The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...

. Engstrom served as vice president and director of marketing of scientific systems for

Sperry Rand Sperry Corporation was a major American equipment and electronics company whose existence spanned more than seven decades of the 20th century. Sperry ceased to exist in 1986 following a prolonged hostile takeover bid engineered by Burroughs ...

's Remington Rand Univac division from 1952–1956, and co-created the

Univac UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was a line of electronic digital stored-program computers starting with the products of the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation. Later the name was applied to a division of the Remington Rand company an ...

. Engstrom served at the National Security Agency for two years, beginning in October, 1956. Upon his departure, Secretary of Defense

Neil H. McElroy Neil Hosler McElroy (October 30, 1904 – November 30, 1972) was United States Secretary of Defense from 1957 to 1959 under President Eisenhower. He had been president of Procter & Gamble. Early life and education Born in Berea, Ohio, to school- ...

cited him for "exceptional meritorious civilian service" in directing the agency's research program.

Death

Engstrom died at the age of 59 after suffering a months-long illness.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Engstrom, Howard Computer designers People from Boston 20th-century American mathematicians American computer scientists United States Navy officers 1962 deaths Year of birth uncertain Military personnel from Massachusetts 1902 births