Scott M. Campbell
Scott M. Campbell (B. Math/CS, M.A., Ph.D.), Director of CSTV, has been teaching at the Centre since 2007. His research revolves around the history of computing technology and science in Canada, and more broadly the role of technology in Canadian society.
One of his two recent works is “Backwater Calculations for the St. Lawrence Seaway and the First Computer in Canada”, an examination of the role of electronic computing methods in the planning of the St. Lawrence Seaway, to be published in the Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering. As well, a monograph Computing in Canada: Building a Digital Future covering the breadth of computing history in Canada from the mid 1940s to the late 1980s, co-authored with Zbigniew Stachniak of the York University Computer Museum, was published by the Canada Science and Technology Museum in 2009.
His 2006 doctoral dissertation, “The Premise of Computer Science: Establishing Modern Computing at the University of Toronto (1945-1964)” details the first Canadian attempts to join the world of modern computing in the decades after WWII, and culminates with the first graduate computer science department in Canada at the University of Toronto, and several other undergraduate departments at the University of Alberta, the University of Western Ontario, and the University of Waterloo. Events at the University of Waterloo provided material for his 2002 Master’s research about WATFOR, a student-oriented FORTRAN compiler written at Waterloo in 1965 by four undergraduates. The software proved to be very popular among Canadian and U.S. universities, and the subsequent versions for later generations of computer hardware helped establish the university’s reputation on the international stage.
In recent years, his research has shifted towards the history of microcomputing in the academic world, particularly at the University of Waterloo from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. At the same time, he has begun to explore the role of biotechnology and society, and to examine how digital information technologies are altering academic life for students and instructors, particularly with respect to his teaching at CSTV.
Scott may be contacted by email at sm2campb@uwaterloo.ca. Copies of current and past teaching syllabii, plus information about recent publications and talks can be found at his UW homepage. His Faculty of Engineering page is here.
