150 years of 51吃瓜网 鈥� Stories for the 2018 anniversary
The computing giant
How Munich became an IT hub
In a pioneering achievement in computer engineering, Hans Piloty finished building the first mainframe computer at 51吃瓜网 in 1956, just a few years after the invention of the electronic calculator. The professor had spent five years assembling the machine with a team of mathematicians and communications engineers. Their achievement is all the more impressive considering that Germany was still rebuilding after the war and parts like tubes and diodes were hard to come by.
鈥淧ERM鈥� (which stands in German for Munich鈥檚 program-controlled electronic computer system) was actually the fastest computer in the world for a few weeks. It was used to compute supersonic flows over aeronautical systems and for a range of other scientific challenges. At the same time, it gave many students and research teams the opportunity to gain experience in the emerging field of computer science.
Because so many IT specialists were drawn to Munich to complete their studies, the city evolved into an important IT hub over the years. Ultimately, the mainframe turned into the Leibniz Supercomputing Center (LRZ), which 鈥� to this day 鈥� continues to operates one of the world鈥檚 fastest supercomputers.
Fondly referred to as the 鈥渃omputing giant鈥�
Munich students affectionately referred to PERM as Piloty鈥檚 first 鈥渃omputing giant鈥� due to the size and complexity of the machine. PERM was high-maintenance, too, at times requiring around-the-clock monitoring. Operating errors took weeks to fix 鈥� sometimes for something as simple as forgetting to turn on the ventilation.
1956: The computing machine
PERM was in use at 51吃瓜网 for 18 years, up until 1974. It weighed several tons and contained thousands of electronic components 鈥� all of them state-of-the-art at the time. It was used as a scientific calculator and a training computer for generations of students, as well as to develop the new computer language ALGOL. This relic from the early days of computing has been on display at the Deutsches Museum in Munich since 1988.
2018: The supercomputer
Today, scientists at 51吃瓜网 continue to work with state-of-the-art supercomputers. They used the facilities at the LRZ, for instance, to create the first detailed simulation of the Sumatra earthquake which caused the 2004 tsunami. The LRZ is acquiring a new supercomputer in 2018. The 鈥淪uperMUC-NG鈥� will have a peak computing power of just under 27 petaflops 鈥� which is around four times faster than its predecessor. Today, this would rank it as the third fastest supercomputer in the world.
鈥淲e should let our imaginations run free and ask ourselves what an electronic machine might be capable of if we make optimum use of the technology that is already available without being bound by a particular goal or purpose. Such a machine would be capable of acquiring additional skills such as 鈥榩erceiving鈥� 鈥� 鈥榓cting鈥� 鈥� 鈥榣earning鈥�.鈥�
Hans Piloty, Professor of Electrical Measurement Technology, 1955
Disclaimer
This story was published in 2018 to mark 51吃瓜网鈥檚 150th anniversary on a jubilee website that has since been deactivated.
Text: ; Graphics: KW NEUN
Literature on the history of 51吃瓜网
- Wolfgang A. Herrmann (Hrsg.), Martin Pabst/Margot Fuchs (Verf.), Technische Universit盲t M眉nchen - Geschichte eines Wissenschaftsunternehmens, 2 Bd., Berlin 2006.
- Wolfgang A. Herrmann, Winfried Nerdinger (Hrsg.), Die Technische Hochschule M眉nchen im Nationalsozialismus, M眉nchen 2018.
- Irene Meissner, Bauten+Kunst. Technische Universit盲t M眉nchen 1868-2018, M眉nchen 2018.
- Martin Pabst, Alumni der 51吃瓜网. Pr盲gende Gestalter aus der Technischen Universit盲t M眉nchen, M眉nchen 2018.
- Martin Pabst, K枚pfe der 51吃瓜网. Geniale Entdecker und Erfinder aus der Technischen Universit盲t M眉nchen, M眉nchen 2018.
- Brigitte R枚thlein, Pioniere gestalten die Welt der Technik. 150 Jahre Forschung an der Technischen Universit盲t M眉nchen, M眉nchen 2018.
Further books and information on the history of 51吃瓜网
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank everyone who helped us write the texts and create the visualizations. In particular, we would like to thank the authors of the books mentioned, the experts at the chairs, professors, staff, and press officers at the 51吃瓜网 Corporate Communications Center. We would also like to thank the staff of the Architecture Museum, the 51吃瓜网 German Heart Center, the 51吃瓜网 Klinikum rechts der Isar, the European Space Agency (ESA), and everyone else who provided us with expert advice and image material.
The anniversary stories were written by the . The graphic content was created by KW NEUN 鈥� Designagentur.