Events for September 17, 2009
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September 17, 2009
Craig P. Bauer, York College
Cryptology on Campus During World War II
Philadelphia Area Seminar on the History of Mathematics (PASHoM) | Visit site ยป
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Place: Villanova University
Abstract: Over 30 colleges and universities offered cryptology courses during World War II. There was great diversity in who delivered the classes. Mathematicians were represented, as were the departments of astronomy, biology, classics, English, geology, Greek, philosophy, and psychology. Even a dean managed to make himself useful. Some classes were secret, run for the benefit of the military, while others were open to all. The lecture surveys these courses, along with biosketches of the professors and, in some cases, describes original research contributions they made to the field of cryptology.