Necessity
drives invention. In this seminar, we will examine the historical
development
of information technology, broadly defined as computing,
communications, and
signal processing, in the 20th Century within the context of
modern
warfare and national defense. Topics may include:
cryptography/cryptanalysis
and the development of the computer; command and control systems and
the
development of the Internet; the war of attrition and the development
of the
mathematics of operations research; military communications and the
development
of the cellular telephone system; precision munitions and the
development of
the Global Positioning System. While we will endeavor to explain these
developments in technical terms at a tutorial level, our main focus is
to
engage the students in the historical sweep of technical development
and
innovation as driven by national needs, and whether this represents a
continuing framework for the 21st Century.
Attendance and participation in class counts!
Group Class Presentation mid-semester (Topic: Historical Insurgencies
and Counterinsurgency Strategies)
A research paper of the student's choosing with consent of the
instructors.