Biological Computer Laboratory
Encyclopedia
The Biological Computer Laboratory (BCL) was a research institute of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
. It was founded on 1 January 1958 by the then Professor of Electrical Engineering Heinz von Foerster
. He was head of the BCL until his retirement.
The focus of research at the BCL was systems theory
and specifically the area of self-organizing systems
, bionics
, and bio-inspired computing; that is, analyzing, formalizing, and implementing biological process using computers. The BCL was to the ideas of Warren McCulloch and the Macy Conferences
, as well as many other thinkers in the field of cybernetics
.
In the first decade of its existence, the BCL was primarily a non-teaching research lab. Although students could work at the BCL, they were not trained.
Until 1965, many researchers had a visiting professorship at the BCL: W. William Ainsworth (England), Alex Andrew (England), W. Ross Ashby
(England), Gordon Pask
(England), Gotthard Günther
(USA, Germany), Dan Cohen (Israel), Lars Löfgren (Sweden), Humberto Maturana
(Chile), Francisco Varela
(Chile), Ernst von Glasersfeld
(Germany), Stafford Beer (England), John C. Lilly
(USA). Ashby (since 1961) and Günther (1967) received regular professors, and Löfgren Pask remained even after her visiting professorship in constant contact with the BCL.
The BCL was financed primarily by grants. Partly this came from military organizations such as U.S. Air Force
and U.S. Navy
which, in the 1950s and 60s, possessed large budgets for basic research. Non-military donors included Department of Health, Education and Welfare
, Public Health Service
, National Institutes of Health
, National Science Foundation
, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research , New York, National Aeronautics and Space Administration , Electronics Research Center
, Boston, Massachusetts Office of Education , Bureau of Research, Washington, DC and Point , San Francisco, California. With the beginning of the 1970s, military research funding became limited to projects that provided militarily useful results, and Heinz von Foerster
was able not to identify adequate sponsors.
In 1974, the BCL was closed due to lack of research funds.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
. It was founded on 1 January 1958 by the then Professor of Electrical Engineering Heinz von Foerster
Heinz von Foerster
Heinz von Foerster was an Austrian American scientist combining physics and philosophy. Together with Warren McCulloch, Norbert Wiener, John von Neumann, Lawrence J. Fogel, and others, Heinz von Foerster was an architect of cybernetics.-Biography:Von Foerster was born in 1911 in Vienna, Austria,...
. He was head of the BCL until his retirement.
The focus of research at the BCL was systems theory
Systems theory
Systems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research...
and specifically the area of self-organizing systems
Self-organization
Self-organization is the process where a structure or pattern appears in a system without a central authority or external element imposing it through planning...
, bionics
Bionics
Bionics is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology.The word bionic was coined by Jack E...
, and bio-inspired computing; that is, analyzing, formalizing, and implementing biological process using computers. The BCL was to the ideas of Warren McCulloch and the Macy Conferences
Macy conferences
The Macy Conferences were a set of meetings of scholars from various disciplines held in New York by the initiative of Warren McCulloch and the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation from 1946 to 1953...
, as well as many other thinkers in the field of cybernetics
Cybernetics
Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to information theory, control theory and systems theory, at least in its first-order form...
.
In the first decade of its existence, the BCL was primarily a non-teaching research lab. Although students could work at the BCL, they were not trained.
Until 1965, many researchers had a visiting professorship at the BCL: W. William Ainsworth (England), Alex Andrew (England), W. Ross Ashby
William Ross Ashby
W. Ross Ashby was an English psychiatrist and a pioneer in cybernetics, the study of complex systems. His first name was not used: he was known as Ross Ashby....
(England), Gordon Pask
Gordon Pask
Andrew Gordon Speedie Pask was an English cybernetician and psychologist who made significant contributions to cybernetics, instructional psychology, experimental epistemology and educational technology....
(England), Gotthard Günther
Gotthard Günther
Gotthard Günther , was a German philosopher.- Biography :...
(USA, Germany), Dan Cohen (Israel), Lars Löfgren (Sweden), Humberto Maturana
Humberto Maturana
Humberto Maturana is a Chilean biologist and philosopher. He is considered a member of the second wave of cybernetics, known for developing a theory of autopoiesis about the nature of reflexive feedback control in living systems.- Biography :After completing secondary school at the Liceo Manuel de...
(Chile), Francisco Varela
Francisco Varela
Francisco Javier Varela García , was a Chilean biologist, philosopher and neuroscientist who, together with his teacher Humberto Maturana, is best known for introducing the concept of autopoiesis to biology.-Biography:...
(Chile), Ernst von Glasersfeld
Ernst von Glasersfeld
Ernst von Glasersfeld was a philosopher, and Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Georgia, Research Associate at the Scientific Reasoning Research Institute, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst...
(Germany), Stafford Beer (England), John C. Lilly
John C. Lilly
John Cunningham Lilly was an American physician, neuroscientist, psychoanalyst, psychonaut, philosopher and writer....
(USA). Ashby (since 1961) and Günther (1967) received regular professors, and Löfgren Pask remained even after her visiting professorship in constant contact with the BCL.
The BCL was financed primarily by grants. Partly this came from military organizations such as U.S. Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
and U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
which, in the 1950s and 60s, possessed large budgets for basic research. Non-military donors included Department of Health, Education and Welfare
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
, Public Health Service
United States Public Health Service
The Public Health Service Act of 1944 structured the United States Public Health Service as the primary division of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare , which later became the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The PHS comprises all Agency Divisions of Health and...
, National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
, National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research , New York, National Aeronautics and Space Administration , Electronics Research Center
Electronics Research Center
The Electronics Research Center , was a NASA research facility located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, across the street from MIT at Kendall Square. The ERC opened in September 1964, taking over the administration of contracts, grants, and other NASA business in New England from the antecedent North...
, Boston, Massachusetts Office of Education , Bureau of Research, Washington, DC and Point , San Francisco, California. With the beginning of the 1970s, military research funding became limited to projects that provided militarily useful results, and Heinz von Foerster
Heinz von Foerster
Heinz von Foerster was an Austrian American scientist combining physics and philosophy. Together with Warren McCulloch, Norbert Wiener, John von Neumann, Lawrence J. Fogel, and others, Heinz von Foerster was an architect of cybernetics.-Biography:Von Foerster was born in 1911 in Vienna, Austria,...
was able not to identify adequate sponsors.
In 1974, the BCL was closed due to lack of research funds.
Sources
- Albert Mueller, A brief history of the BCL. In: Austrian Journal of History. 11 (1), 2000, p. 9-30.
- Bernard Scott, Heinz von Foerster obituary, The Independent, 25 October 2002.
- Heinz von Foerster, Understanding understanding: conversations on epistemology and ethics, Springer, 2002.
Books
Albert Muller, Karl Muller (eds), An Unfinished Revolution?: Heinz von Foerster and the Biological Computer Laboratory / BCL 1958-1976, Edition Echoraum, 2007.External links
- BCL homepage
- Heinz von Foerster Homepage
- The End of the BCL (PDF 478 kB)