Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age

A Hollywood biopic about the life of computer pioneer Grace Murray Hopper (1906-1992) would go something like this: a young professor abandons the ivy-covered walls of academia to serve her country in the Navy after Pearl Harbor and finds herself on the front lines of the computer revolution. She works hard to succeed in the all-male computer industry, and is almost overcome by personal challenges but survives them, and ends her career as a celebrated elder stateswoman of the information age, a heroine to thousands, hailed as the inventor of computer programming. In Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age, Dr. Kurt Beyer goes beyond the screenplay-ready story to reveal a more authentic Hopper, a vibrant, complex, and intriguing woman whose career paralleled the meteoric trajectory of the postwar computer industry.

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Friday, November 6, 2009

Kurt Beyer Keynote Speaker along with Craig Newmark (Craigslist)

Kurt has been selected by the ICCA as keynote speaker along with Craig Newmark, creator of Craigslist. The 32nd conference of the Independent Computer Consultants Association will be held in San Francisco from Friday November 13th to Sunday November 15th. Kurt will discuss not only the career of Grace Hopper but the first 30 years of the computer industry.

8:14 pm est

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Computer History Museum Talk Draws 400 attendees

The Silicon Valley Computer History Museum hosted a lunchtime conversation between author Kurt Beyer and Northern California Public Broadcasting’s Linda O’Bryon. The event was sponsored by SAP and was attended by 400 attendees, many of whom worked in the computer industry.

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Press: Here’ is a Sunday morning news roundtable discussion show featuring the top names in Silicon Valley's technology industry and world class technology reporters from The New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, Businessweek, Yahoo Finance, Forbes, NPR, the BBC and Fortune.

USAA Nexus Speaker Series

Kurt Beyer discussed the contributions of Grace Hopper at USAA's Distinguished Speaker Series in San Antonio. Click Here for a list of talks and lectures near you.

Booklist names Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age a Top Ten Science and Technology book for 2009.

"The obsessions of this stellar group of science writers—including polar bears, a missing aviator, dawn, computer programming, dogs, and antimatter—inspired a year’s worth of significant and intriguing books." Click Here

Author Kurt Beyer Interviewed by Smithsonian

The Smithsonian's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation interviewed author Kurt Beyer about the career of Grace Hopper, the history of the computer industry, the process of innovation, and the nature of invention.

Click Here To Listen or Download to iTunes

Yale President's Freshman Address

Yale President Richard Levin bases his 2009 Freshman Address on Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age.

Click Here For Transcript