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John von Neumann (1903-1957). When he was elected a member of the Academy in 1937, von Neumann
was known for his contributions to the fields of mathematical logic and the foundations of
quantum mechanics. But his interests were wide-ranging, and he went on to do distinguished
work in other fields, including economics and strategic thinking. He is perhaps best known
for his work in the early development of computers. As director of the Electronic Computer
Project at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study (1945-1955), he developed MANIAC
(mathematical analyzer, numerical integrator and computer), which at the time was the fastest
computer of its kind. Built at a time long before the invention of the silicon chip, MANIAC
was run on thousands of vacuum tubes. Von Neumann was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1903, and
studied in Berlin, Zurich, and Hamburg. In 1930 he joined the Princeton Institute for Advanced
Study. He became a US citizen in 1937, and during the Second World War distinguished himself
with his work in weapons development. In 1955 he was named a Commissioner of the Atomic Energy
Commission, a position he held up to his death from cancer in 1957.
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