Tracking Technology, a UTO History: Making Some Noise

by Casey Davis, UTO Instructional Designer

In 1966, Bill Lewis joined Arizona State University as a member of the Industrial Engineering faculty, just eight years after “Arizona State College” became ASU and its School of Engineering was founded. He shared that three-and-a-half years in Chicago had shown him that he was not a fan of cold winters. In fact, Lewis said he was not even really familiar with Arizona State University. All he knew was it was warmer than Chicago.

But when Lewis retired from ASU in 2008, he was the Vice Provost for Computing. During his tenure, computing at ASU grew and evolved, resulting in the creation of the University Technology Office. Lewis’s story is an integral part of the history of UTO and the University at large.

According to Lewis, computer science and support has its origins in 1979 when Dean Roland Hayden walked into Lewis’s office one day and asked him why the School of Engineering didn’t have a computer science program. Lewis replied, “That’s the best question I’ve ever been asked by a dean.” Lewis would become a faculty member in one of the first five accredited computer engineering programs in the United States; Mathematics had toyed with trying to start a program years earlier.

But first, Lewis asked colleagues from Industrial Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Mathematics to join him in petitioning ASU to allow for the creation of a computer science program. This involved not only petitioning the Arizona Board of Regents for approval of the existence of such a program, but also for the physical space and hardware necessary for making the program viable.

The University provided the newly-formed program with office space that was located right behind the President’s office. In fact, there was a door joining the two spaces. Lewis said he knew that the program was off to a strong start when talk quickly grew of finding them new space to reside in.

While this would usually be cause for celebration, for the nascent Computer Science program the reason for this move was a little different  “Computers at that time made a lot of noise,” Lewis said. He explained the President had difficulty getting work done with all of the noise distracting him. So the program offices were moved to new digs. These concentrated efforts were successful, and ASU’s program has blossomed into an internationally recognized program.

With the academic program growing, the needs for supporting study and research grew alongside it. When the computer science program started, technology support was integral. As technology use became more ubiquitous at the University and in society, the demand for that support increased. Therefore, it is within the building of a computer science program that the origins of the University Technology Office are found.

Be sure to keep up with our ongoing exploration of the history of UTO every month, continuing in March with the background of technology incubation at colleges across the country.