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Dr. Glen J. Culler joined UCSB's faculty in 1959. Trained as a
pure mathematician at Berkeley and UCLA, he nevertheless
brought with him working experience of the computational
aspects of applied mathematics and physics. Dr. Culler's work
in networking, signal and speech processing, and computer
architecture has provided much of the foundation on which
today's computing environment has been built, underlying our
current ability to communicate, solve problems, and expand our
horizons using computers.Thirty years ago, while many engineers, scientists, and mathematicians were attracted to computers for their computational power, Dr. Culler presented a radically different vision. He saw the computer as an extension of the human intuition and intellect, and envisioned users sitting at a computer to solve problems in real time by interacting directly with the machine. Electronic mail, programmable calculators, function keys, and voice message systems are a few examples of technologies that are the direct outgrowth of Glen Culler's innovative concepts. Another first, Glen's interactive UCSB On- Line System, was the primary reason the University was chosen as one of the four original sites for the ARPAnet, now the Internet.
From our perspective as users of modern high-performance personal computers with graphical user interfaces and multimedia capabilities, Dr. Glen Culler's work stands out clearly as a vision of the future, twenty-five years ahead of its time and many years ahead of the technology.
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