IC Colloquium: Alan Turing, the Enigma, and the emergence of the computer
Event details
| Date | 07.11.2014 |
| Hour | 14:00 › 16:00 |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
By: Andrew Hodges - University of Oxford
Video on demand
Abstract:
The British mathematician Alan Turing (1912-1954) is well-known for the formulation in 1936 of the abstract theory of computability. But he was also the central scientific figure in the successful British penetration of German cipher systems in the Second World War. In this talk I will describe the remarkable steps that Turing took between 1936 and 1940, in moving from the highly theoretical to the intensely practical. I will also sketch the influence this had on his later project for the construction of a first electronic computer.
Bio:
Andrew Hodges is Senior Research Fellow at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, and a Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford. His main research work is in fundamental physics, as a collaborator of Roger Penrose (Oxford) and Nima Arkani-Hamed (IAS, Princeton). But he has also published extensively on the subject of Alan Turing. His biography of Turing first appeared in 1983, and has attracted attention for its wide scope, bringing together mathematics, computer science, philosophy of mind, and cryptography within the framework of Turing's extraordinary personal story.
More information
Video on demand
Abstract:
The British mathematician Alan Turing (1912-1954) is well-known for the formulation in 1936 of the abstract theory of computability. But he was also the central scientific figure in the successful British penetration of German cipher systems in the Second World War. In this talk I will describe the remarkable steps that Turing took between 1936 and 1940, in moving from the highly theoretical to the intensely practical. I will also sketch the influence this had on his later project for the construction of a first electronic computer.
Bio:
Andrew Hodges is Senior Research Fellow at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, and a Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford. His main research work is in fundamental physics, as a collaborator of Roger Penrose (Oxford) and Nima Arkani-Hamed (IAS, Princeton). But he has also published extensively on the subject of Alan Turing. His biography of Turing first appeared in 1983, and has attracted attention for its wide scope, bringing together mathematics, computer science, philosophy of mind, and cryptography within the framework of Turing's extraordinary personal story.
More information
Practical information
- General public
- Free
- This event is internal
Contact
- Hosts : Tamas Hausel - Nisheeth Vishnoi