Beatrice Helen Worsley
Encyclopedia
Beatrice "Trixie" Helen Worsley (October 18, 1921 – May 8, 1972) was the first female computer scientist in Canada.
, but graduated from Bishop Strachan School
in Toronto
in 1939, receiving the Governor General’s Award for the highest overall grade. In 1944 she graduated from the University of Toronto
with first class honours in Mathematics and Physics. During World War II she worked with the Royal Canadian Navy on the design of torpedoes which were equipped with rudimentary computers. In 1947 she received an S.M. in Mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
; her thesis was "A Mathematical Survey of Computing Devices with an Appendix on Error Analysis of Differential Analyzers."
and Arthur Porter
from 1935. Her analyzer was only slightly modified from the original design, but offered small improvements to the electrical power distribution system, the design of the torque amplifiers, and the output pen support. In 1949 Worsley and Stanley went to Cambridge University to work with Maurice Wilkes, who was in the process of completing the EDSAC
computer. Worsley wrote the first program to successfully run on EDSAC, which was a program that generated a table of squares. When the new computer Ferut was installed, Worsley was one of the people who wrote Transcode
, a programming system which allowed programmers to write programs in a simplified language that was then compiled into Ferut's more obscure machine language. In 1952 Worsley received a Ph.D. from Cambridge, making her possibly the first woman to earn a doctorate in the field of computers. Her dissertation, "Serial Programming for
Real and Idealized Digital Calculating Machines", was the first PhD dissertation involving modern computers.
In 1965 Worsley became a founding member of the Queen's Computing Centre at Queen's University
, where she developed some of the early courses given by the Centre. On May 8, 1972 Worsley died of a heart attack; in 1971 she had donated a large number of her papers to the Smithsonian Institution
.
Worsley published about 17 papers in professional journals and a large number of articles in the Quarterly Bulletin of the Computing and Data Processing Society of Canada. She was active in both this association and the Computer Science Association and helped in the merger of the two organizations.
Education
Beatrice Helen Worsley was born in MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, but graduated from Bishop Strachan School
Bishop Strachan School
The Bishop Strachan School is Canada’s oldest day and boarding school for girls. The School has approximately 820 day students and 80 boarding students ranging from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 . The school seeks to nurture the academic, social, emotional, spiritual, creative and physical...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
in 1939, receiving the Governor General’s Award for the highest overall grade. In 1944 she graduated from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
with first class honours in Mathematics and Physics. During World War II she worked with the Royal Canadian Navy on the design of torpedoes which were equipped with rudimentary computers. In 1947 she received an S.M. in Mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
; her thesis was "A Mathematical Survey of Computing Devices with an Appendix on Error Analysis of Differential Analyzers."
Career
In September 1947 Worsley and J. Perham Stanley were hired by the University of Toronto Computation Centre as junior assistants. During this time Worsley built a differential analyzer with Meccano (a metal construction system designed for building models), based on an article by Douglas HartreeDouglas Hartree
Douglas Rayner Hartree PhD, FRS was an English mathematician and physicist most famous for the development of numerical analysis and its application to the Hartree-Fock equations of atomic physics and the construction of the meccano differential analyser.-Early life:Douglas Hartree was born in...
and Arthur Porter
Arthur Porter
Arthur Porter may refer to:*Arthur Porter , English politician*Arthur Thomas Porter, Creole professor and author*Arthur Kingsley Porter, American art historian and medievalist...
from 1935. Her analyzer was only slightly modified from the original design, but offered small improvements to the electrical power distribution system, the design of the torque amplifiers, and the output pen support. In 1949 Worsley and Stanley went to Cambridge University to work with Maurice Wilkes, who was in the process of completing the EDSAC
EDSAC
Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator was an early British computer. The machine, having been inspired by John von Neumann's seminal First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC, was constructed by Maurice Wilkes and his team at the University of Cambridge Mathematical Laboratory in England...
computer. Worsley wrote the first program to successfully run on EDSAC, which was a program that generated a table of squares. When the new computer Ferut was installed, Worsley was one of the people who wrote Transcode
Transcode
Transcoding is the direct digital-to-digital data conversion of one encoding to another, such as for movie data files or audio files. This is usually done in cases where a target device does not support the format or has limited storage capacity that mandates a reduced file size, or to convert...
, a programming system which allowed programmers to write programs in a simplified language that was then compiled into Ferut's more obscure machine language. In 1952 Worsley received a Ph.D. from Cambridge, making her possibly the first woman to earn a doctorate in the field of computers. Her dissertation, "Serial Programming for
Real and Idealized Digital Calculating Machines", was the first PhD dissertation involving modern computers.
In 1965 Worsley became a founding member of the Queen's Computing Centre at Queen's University
Queen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
, where she developed some of the early courses given by the Centre. On May 8, 1972 Worsley died of a heart attack; in 1971 she had donated a large number of her papers to the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
.
Worsley published about 17 papers in professional journals and a large number of articles in the Quarterly Bulletin of the Computing and Data Processing Society of Canada. She was active in both this association and the Computer Science Association and helped in the merger of the two organizations.