Princeton and the Dawn of the Information Age

Princeton and Princetonians have played foundational roles in creating the information technologies - computers, smart phones, and the Internet, for example - that help to define today's world. This seminar will both introduce students to some of the basics of information technologies and emphasize Princeton's role in the development of these technologies. The seminar will examine the contributions of pioneers such as Alan Turing, John Von Neuman, Claude Shannon, John Bardeen, and Robert Kahn, among others, to information technologies. The material will be presented at a level suitable for students with general backgrounds.