Jacek Karpinski
Encyclopedia
Computer engineering
Computer engineering, also called computer systems engineering, is a discipline that integrates several fields of electrical engineering and computer science required to develop computer systems. Computer engineers usually have training in electronic engineering, software design, and...
and computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
.
During WW2
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was a soldier of Batalion Zośka
Batalion Zoska
- Order of battle of the battalion :-Bibliography:*"Pamiętniki żołnierzy baonu Zośka", Nasza Księgarnia, Warsaw 1986 ISBN 83-10-08703-9....
of Polish Home Army
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
, awarded multiple times with a Cross of Valour
Krzyz Walecznych
The Cross of Valor is a Polish military decoration. It was first introduced by the Council for Defense of the State on 11 August 1920. It is awarded to an individual who "has demonstrated deeds of valor and courage on the field of battle." It may be awarded to the same person up to four times...
. Among the others he took a part in Operation Kutschera
Operation Kutschera
Operation Kutschera was the code name for the successful assassination of Franz Kutschera, SS and Reich's Police Chief in Warsaw, executed on 1 February 1944 by the Polish Resistance fighters of Home Army's Anti-Gestapo unit Agat...
(intelligence) and Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
when he was heavily wounded.
Later he became a developer of one of the first machine learning
Machine learning
Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, is a scientific discipline concerned with the design and development of algorithms that allow computers to evolve behaviors based on empirical data, such as from sensor data or databases...
algorithm
Algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...
s, techniques for character and image recognition.
After receiving a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
award in 1960, he studied for 2 years at 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...
and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
In 1971 he designed of one of the first minicomputers, the K-202
K-202
K-202 was a 16-bit minicomputer, invented by Polish scientist Jacek Karpiński between 1971-1973 in cooperation with British companies Data-Loop and M.B. Metals. Approximately 30 units were produced. The later production was halted as it was not in line with the ES EVM causing the inventor to...
. Because of the policy on computer development in the People's Republic of Poland
History of computer hardware in Soviet Bloc countries
The history of computing hardware in the former Soviet Bloc is somewhat different from that of the Western world. As a result of the CoCom embargo, computers could not be imported in a large scale from capitalist countries...
, belonging to the Comecon
Comecon
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance , 1949–1991, was an economic organisation under hegemony of Soviet Union comprising the countries of the Eastern Bloc along with a number of communist states elsewhere in the world...
that time, K-202
K-202
K-202 was a 16-bit minicomputer, invented by Polish scientist Jacek Karpiński between 1971-1973 in cooperation with British companies Data-Loop and M.B. Metals. Approximately 30 units were produced. The later production was halted as it was not in line with the ES EVM causing the inventor to...
was never mass produced. Karpiński later became a pig farmer, and in 1981, after receiving a passport, emigrated to Switzerland.
He also founded the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Polish Academy of Sciences
The Polish Academy of Sciences, headquartered in Warsaw, is one of two Polish institutions having the nature of an academy of sciences.-History:...
in the early 1960s.
AAH
The AAH was a vacuum tube computer built in 1957 for a weather forecastingWeather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
.
AKAT-1
The AKAT-1 was the world's first transistor differential analyzer, constructed by Karpiński at the Polish Academy of Science's Institute of Automatics in 1959. It was designed to solve systems of differential equationDifferential equation
A differential equation is a mathematical equation for an unknown function of one or several variables that relates the values of the function itself and its derivatives of various orders...
s and modeling processes.
KAR-65
The KAR-65 (1968) was a transistor-based computer designed for analyzing particle collisionParticle accelerator
A particle accelerator is a device that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams. An ordinary CRT television set is a simple form of accelerator. There are two basic types: electrostatic and oscillating field accelerators.In...
data from CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
.
K-202
Built in 1971, the K-202K-202
K-202 was a 16-bit minicomputer, invented by Polish scientist Jacek Karpiński between 1971-1973 in cooperation with British companies Data-Loop and M.B. Metals. Approximately 30 units were produced. The later production was halted as it was not in line with the ES EVM causing the inventor to...
was one of the first minicomputers. Having 16-bit word, up to 8MB addressable memory range, modular architecture and priced at around $3000, it was one of the best of its times.
External links
- TVP "Co się stało z polskim Billem Gatesem?" (video, polish)
- "Polski Bill Gates i świnie" – Gazeta Wyborcza (polish)
- onet.pl "Zniszczyć konstruktora" (polish)
- "Genialny wynalazca" onet.pl (polish)
- Zmarł genialny konstruktor Jacek Karpiński kopalniawiedzy.pl (polish)