Editing Engineering Research Associates

{{Short description|Pioneering American computer firm (1946–1952)}}
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{{More footnotes|date=January 2016}}
{{External links|date=September 2020}}
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{{Infobox company
| name = Engineering Research Associates
| logo = 
| type = 
| industry = [[Technology industry|Technology]]
| fate = Purchased by [[Remington Rand]]
| predecessor = <!-- or: | predecessors = -->
| successor = <!-- or: | successors = -->
| founded = {{Start date and age|1946}}
| founders = [[William Norris (CEO)|William Norris]], [[Howard Engstrom]]
| defunct = {{End date|1952}}
| hq_location_city = 
| hq_location_country = 
| area_served = <!-- or: | areas_served = -->
| key_people = 
| products = [[Computers]]
| owner = <!-- or: | owners = -->
| num_employees = 
| num_employees_year = <!-- Year of num_employees data (if known) -->
| parent = 
| website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
}}
'''Engineering Research Associates''', commonly known as '''ERA''', was a pioneering computer firm from the 1950s. ERA became famous for their numerical computers, but as the market expanded they became better known for their [[drum memory]] systems. They were eventually purchased by [[Remington Rand]] and merged into their [[UNIVAC]] department. Many of the company founders later left to form [[Control Data Corporation]].

[[File:Engineering Research Associates plaque.png|thumb|alt=Picture of a memorial plaque with brief synopsis of ERA history|ERA Memorial Plaque, installed 2023-06-15, Ramsey County Historical Society]]

==Wartime origins of ERA==
The ERA team started as a group of scientists and engineers working for the [[US Navy]] during [[World War II|WWII]] on [[Cryptography|code-breaking]], a division known as the '''Communications Supplementary Activity - Washington''' (CSAW). After the war budgets were cut for most military projects, including CSAW. [[Joseph Wenger]] of the Navy's cryptoanalytic group was particularly worried that the CSAW team would spread to various companies and the Navy would lose their ability to quickly design new machines.

==Post-war organization==
Wenger and two members of the CSAW team, [[William Norris (CEO)|William Norris]] and [[Howard Engstrom]], started looking for investors interested in supporting the development of a new computer company. Their only real lead, at [[Kuhn, Loeb & Co.]], eventually fell through.

They then met John Parker, an investment banker who had run Northwest Aeronautical Corporation (NAC), a [[military glider|glider]] subsidiary of [[Chase Aircraft]], in [[St. Paul, Minnesota]]. NAC was in the process of shutting down as the war ended most contracts, and Parker was looking for new projects to keep the factory running. He was told nothing about the work the team would do, but after being visited by a series of increasingly high-ranking naval officers culminating with [[James Forrestal]], he knew "something" was up and decided to give it a try. Norris, Engstrom, and their group incorporated ERA in January, 1946, hired forty of their codebreaking colleagues, and moved to the NAC factory.{{sfn|Murray|1997|loc=Chapter 1}} 

During the early years, the company took on any engineering work that came their way, but were generally kept in business developing new code-breaking machines for the Navy. Most of the machines were custom-built to crack a specific code, and increasingly used magnetic [[drum memory]] to process and analyze the coded texts. To ensure secrecy, the factory was declared to be a [[United States Navy Reserve|Navy Reserve]] base, and armed guards were posted at the entrance.  ERA's numerous military and intelligence projects contributed to Minnesota's becoming "the Land of 10,000 Top-Secret Computer Projects."<ref>Kevin Dragseth, [https://www.tptoriginals.org/how-mn-became-the-land-of-10000-top-secret-computer-projects/ "How MN Became the Land of 10,000 Top-Secret Computer Projects"], TPT's 2019 documentary ''Solid State: Minnesota’s High-Tech History''</ref>

==Goldberg and Demon codebreakers==
Their first machine, Goldberg, completed in 1947, used a crude drum made by gluing [[magnetic tape]] to the surface of a large metal cylinder that could be spun at 50 RPM for reading (and much slower for writing). Over the next few years, the drum memory systems increased in capacity and speed, along with the [[paper tape]] readers needed to feed the data onto the drums. They later ended up in a major patent fight with Technitrol Engineering, who introduced a drum memory of their own in 1952.

One of the follow-on machines, Demon, was built to crack a specific Soviet code. In 1949 the code was changed, rendering the machine useless. James Pendergrass, a Navy officer attached to the codebreaking unit, had attended a series of lectures at the [[Moore School of Engineering]] at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] in 1946, and became convinced the only lasting solution to the code breaking problem was a computer that could be quickly re-programmed to work on different tasks. In 1947 the Navy awarded ERA a contract, "Task 13", to develop what was destined to be the first [[stored program]] computer in the U.S. The machine, known as the [[Atlas I computer|Atlas]], used [[drum memory]] and was delivered in 1950. ERA then started to sell it commercially as the '''[[UNIVAC 1101|ERA 1101]]''', 1101 being binary for 13. Even before delivery of the Atlas, the Navy asked for a more powerful machine using both [[Williams tube]]s and drum memory, a machine known as the [[Atlas II computer|Atlas II]]. Work began in 1950 and the completed Atlas II was delivered to the still-secret [[National Security Agency|NSA]] in September 1953.

==''High-speed Computing Devices''==
In 1950, ERA published ''High-speed Computing Devices,''<ref>{{cite book |author1=The staff of Engineering Research Associates, Inc. |editor1-last=Stiffler |editor1-first=W. W. |title=High-speed Computing Devices |publisher=McGraw Hill Book Company, Inc. |url=https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_eraHighSpe950_30096406/ |accessdate=2020-02-20}}</ref> a 450-page textbook that summarized the state of computer technology at that time. It describes the basic components of digital logic, the devices and circuits used to build these components, and the principles of computer design and programming. This book was a revision of a report submitted to the [[Office of Naval Research]], omitting references to cryptography; [[Mina Rees]], then director of the ONR mathematical section, suggested that it should be published.

One of the book's most successful predictions concerned the [[transistor]], which had recently been invented at [[Bell Labs|Bell Laboratories]]: "It will probably be competitive with the electron tube in total cost per stage." (page 423)

==Legal troubles and the Remington Rand acquisition==
ERA looked to selling similar machines to a number of customers, but at about this time they became embroiled in a lengthy series of political maneuvering in Washington. [[Drew Pearson (journalist)|Drew Pearson's]] ''[[Washington Merry-Go-Round]]'' claimed that the founding of ERA was a conflict of interest for Norris and Engstrom because they had used their war-time government connections to set up a company for their own profit. The resulting legal fight left the company drained, both financially and emotionally. In 1952 they were purchased by Remington Rand, largely as a result of these problems.

Remington Rand already had a computing division however, after they had purchased the [[Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation]] in 1950. For a time the two companies operated as independent units within Remington, with ERA focusing on scientific and military customers, while Eckert–Mauchly's [[List of UNIVAC products|UNIVAC]]s were sold to business customers. However, in 1955 Remington merged with [[Sperry Corporation]] to become [[Sperry Rand]]. Both ERA and Eckert–Mauchly were folded into a single division as Sperry-UNIVAC. Much of ERA's work was dropped, while their drum technology was used in newer UNIVAC machines. A number of employees were not happy with this move and decamped to form [[Control Data Corporation]] under the leadership of Norris. Among them was [[Seymour Cray]], who went on to design [[supercomputer]]s and create [[Cray Computers]].

But the core of the ERA team lived on. Eventually they were moved to a new research division where they had considerably more freedom. They worked primarily on computing systems for military use, and they pioneered a number of early command and control and guidance systems for [[ICBM]]s and satellites. There they were known as the Military Division, which was later renamed the Aerospace Division.

==The new ERA==
In the late 1970s, a number of Rand employees purchased the ERA name and started a small government contracting firm.  In 1989, the new ERA became a [[wholly owned subsidiary]] of [[E-Systems]].  In 1995, it was merged into the [[Melpar]] division of its parent and the name once again disappeared.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

=== General references ===

*{{cite book|last1=Murray|first1=Charles|title=The Supermen: The Story of Seymour Cray and the Technical Wizards behind the Supercomputer|date=1997|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=0-471-04885-2|url=http://www.businessweek.com/chapter/murray.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000118143923/http://www.businessweek.com/chapter/murray.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2000-01-18}}
*Erwin Tomash and Arnold A. Cohen, "The Birth of an ERA: Engineering Research Associates, Inc. 1945-1955," ''Annals of the History of Computing'', Vol. 1, No. 2, Oct. 1979.
*''High Speed Computing Devices'' by the Staff of Engineering Research Associates; (1950); New introduction by Arnold A. Cohen; 6"x9"; 493 pp.; illus; biblio; bios; index; {{ISBN|0-262-08152-0}} (available through [[Charles Babbage Institute]])
*Arthur L. Norberg, ''Computers and Commerce: A Study of Technology and Management at Eckert–Mauchly Computer Company, Engineering Research Associates, and Remington Rand, 1946-1957'' (MIT Press, 2005). {{ISBN|978-0-262-14090-4}}
*David Lundstrom, ''A Few Good Men from Univac'', MIT Press, 1987. {{ISBN|0-262-62075-8}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110902095250/https://wiki.cc.gatech.edu/folklore/index.php/Engineering_Research_Associates_and_the_Atlas_Computer_(UNIVAC_1101) Engineering Research Associates and the Atlas Computer]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061010230855/http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/1901.htm Technitrol Engineering Company Law Suit Records]
* [https://steveblank.com/2023/12/11/the-secret-history-of-minnesota-part-1-engineering-research-associates/ Secret History of Minnesota Part 1: Engineering Research Associates], Steve Blank

== External links ==
*[http://purl.umn.edu/107677 Oral history interview with Erwin Tomash] at the [[Charles Babbage Institute]], University of Minnesota.
*[http://purl.umn.edu/107551 Oral history interview with William Norris] at the [[Charles Babbage Institute]] focuses on his ERA years and formation of CDC
*[http://purl.umn.edu/107248 Oral history interview with Willis K. Drake] at the [[Charles Babbage Institute]]
*[http://purl.umn.edu/107220 Oral history interview with Arnold A. Cohen] at the [[Charles Babbage Institute]]
*[http://purl.umn.edu/107593 Oral history interview with John E. Parker] at the [[Charles Babbage Institute]]
*[http://purl.umn.edu/107250 Oral history interview with Hugh Duncan] at the [[Charles Babbage Institute]]
*[http://purl.umn.edu/107538 Oral history interview with Frank C. Mullaney] at the [[Charles Babbage Institute]] - discusses Engineering Research Associates (ERA), especially the Atlas (ERA 1101) computer, and successors; John L. Hill; the acquisition of ERA by Remington Rand, J. Presper Eckert, and the formation of [[Control Data Corporation]]
*[http://purl.umn.edu/107673 Oral history interview with  James E. Thornton] at the [[Charles Babbage Institute]]
*[http://purl.umn.edu/107360 Oral history interview with John Lindsay Hill] at the [[Charles Babbage Institute]]
*[http://purl.umn.edu/104344 Oral history interview with Walter Leonard Anderson] at the [[Charles Babbage Institute]]
*[http://purl.umn.edu/107643 Oral history interview with Edward C. Svendsen] at the [[Charles Babbage Institute]]
*[http://purl.umn.edu/107616 Oral history interview with Arnold J. Ryden] at the [[Charles Babbage Institute]]
*[http://findingaids.hagley.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/1985_261.xml Sperry Corporation, UNIVAC Division Photograph Collection] at [[Hagley Museum and Library]]
*[http://findingaids.hagley.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/2015.xml Sperry Rand Corporation, Engineering Research Associates (ERA) Division records] at [[Hagley Museum and Library]]
*[http://findingaids.hagley.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/1825_I.xml Sperry Rand Corporation, Univac Division records] at [[Hagley Museum and Library]]
* [http://findingaids.hagley.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/1825_II.xml Sperry-UNIVAC records] at [[Hagley Museum and Library]]
*[http://purl.umn.edu/40809 Records of ERA-Remington Rand-Sperry Rand] at the [[Charles Babbage Institute]]
*[http://purl.umn.edu/40849 William C. Norris Papers, 1946-1998] at the [[Charles Babbage Institute]]
*[http://purl.umn.edu/41182 Control Data Corporation Records, 1946-1991] at the [[Charles Babbage Institute]]
*[http://findingaids.hagley.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/1901.xml Technitrol, Inc., Lawsuit records] at [[Hagley Museum and Library]]. The collection includes copies of trial records from the suit of Technitrol v. Sperry Rand.
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk9DGpwmiwA YouTube Video: Engineering Research Associates ] Computer History Archives
{{Authority control}}
{{Minnesota Corporations}}
[[Category:American companies established in 1946]]
[[Category:American companies disestablished in 1952]]
[[Category:Companies based in Saint Paul, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Computer companies established in 1946]]
[[Category:Computer companies disestablished in 1952]]
[[Category:Control Data Corporation]]
[[Category:Defunct companies based in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Defunct computer companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct computer hardware companies]]
[[Category:Defunct computer systems companies]]