The Computer History Museum (CHM) today announced that Dr. Richard S. Tedlow of Harvard Business School has joined the Museum as its first resident scholar. Dr. Tedlow became a member of CHM’s Board of Trustees in May 2008. His additional role as resident scholar is a major step in CHM’s long-term plan to establish a permanent research center to support the study of computer history and impact of the information age on the human experience.
“Richard Tedlow is the nation’s pre-eminent business historian, and we are honored to be joined by someone of his stature, academic record and accomplishments as a historian. His residency adds tremendous prestige to the Museum’s efforts and bolsters CHM’s position as one of the world’s premier institutions for the study of computer history,” said John Hollar, the Museum’s President and CEO.
During his time at the Museum, Dr. Tedlow will represent the institution through written materials and public lectures. He will also collaborate with the Museum’s exhibitions team on content for the forthcoming permanent exhibit, “Computer History: The First 2,000 Years,” which will recount the technology, people and impact of the computer, one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century.
The Museum plans to leverage Dr. Tedlow’s residency to establish the policies, framework and financial model to create a permanent visiting scholars program and a fully developed research center to be housed at the Museum. Establishing a research center has been a pillar of CHM’s strategic plan from the Museum’s inception in Silicon Valley.
“I’m thrilled to work with the Computer History Museum as it instates its research center and grows its scholarly presence,” said Dr. Tedlow. “It’s our responsibility to keep the stories of our time alive for future generations, and the Computer History Museum takes this responsibility to record the important details of the computing age very seriously.”
To begin his role as resident scholar, Dr. Tedlow will present a business case at CHM on Intel’s decision in the 1980s to “sole-source” its 386 microprocessor. The lecture will take place on Monday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. Additionally, to encourage the interest of business history in teenagers, Dr. Tedlow will provide a similar learning experience for a younger audience on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. Registration required, please visit CHM’s website for more details.
Dr. Richard S. Tedlow is the Class of 1949 Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, where he is a specialist in the history of business. Dr. Tedlow received his B.A. from Yale, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in history from Columbia. He has written many highly acclaimed books, including “Giants of Enterprise: Seven Business Innovators and the Empires They Built” (HarperBusiness, 2001), selected by BusinessWeek as one of the top ten business books of 2001, and most recently “Andy Grove: The Life and Times of an American” (Portfolio, 2006), which BusinessWeek also listed as one of the top ten business books of 2006.
The Computer History Museum (CHM) in Mountain View, Calif., is a nonprofit organization with a four decade history. The Museum is dedicated to the preservation and celebration of computer history, and is home to the largest international collection of computing artifacts in the world, encompassing computer hardware, software, documentation, ephemera, photographs and moving images.
CHM brings computer history to life through an acclaimed speaker series, dynamic website, onsite tours, as well as physical and online exhibits. Current exhibits include “Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine No. 2,” “Mastering the Game: A History of Computer Chess,” “Innovation in the Valley” – a look at Silicon Valley startups – and the unique “Visible Storage Gallery,” featuring over 600 key objects from the collection.
The signature “Computer History: The First 2,000 Years” exhibit will open in late 2010.
For more information, please visit www.computerhistory.org or call 650.810.1010.
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