Alan Turing Centennial

The 100th anniversary of Alan Turing's birth is coming up in 2012. Given his Princeton association and his foundational role in the field of computer science, this is a unique opportunity for Princeton to celebrate him, and to remind the world of our place in the history of the field.

When the Princeton Alumni Weekly did its assessment of the most influential Princeton alumni of all time, Turing placed second behind only James Madison. His high ranking reflects the impact of his life and work, most notably a simple thought experiment that resulted almost inexorably in the development of the computer hardware and software that we all use today.

It was not entirely obvious to Princetonians that this brilliant but shy graduate student would have such a legacy.   As Turing himself noted in a letter home to his mother, it was hard to be recognized when Einstein and von Neumann were just down the hall. His Princeton presentation on his remarkable ideas was sparsely attended. It is our expectation that our Centennial will right the record.
 

This section contains interesting exhibits and links to additional material about Alan Turing and the Alan Turing Year.

There is a link here to a history of early computing at Princeton by Jon Edwards, who served for 24 years at the University as Assistant Vice President for Computing and Information Technology and later, before retiring last year, as Coordinator of Institutional Communication and Outreach for the University’s Office of Information Technology.

There is a short overview of Princeton's early and lasting contribution to the field of Computer Science.

There is a link to Turing’s Princeton dissertation! Many have mischaracterized the nature of this work. Now you can read it for yourself.

We have also posted Turing’s graduate file and photo.   There are few surprises here, but Turing researchers will undoubtedly appreciate having access.