Erna Schneider Hoover facts for kids

Erna Schneider Hoover (born June 19, 1926) is an American mathematician. She invented a special computer system for phone calls. This system changed how we communicate today. It stopped phone systems from getting overloaded when many people called at once. Her invention helped phone calls work better, especially during busy times. Erna Hoover worked at Bell Laboratories for over 32 years. She is seen as a key pioneer for women in computer technology.

Early Life and Education

Erna Schneider was born on June 19, 1926, in Irvington, New Jersey. Her family lived in South Orange, New Jersey. Her father was a dentist and her mother was a teacher. She had a younger brother who sadly passed away from polio at age five.

Erna loved swimming, sailing, and canoeing. She was interested in science from a young age. Reading about Marie Curie inspired her. It showed her that she could succeed in science, even though it was not common for women then. She graduated from Columbia High School in 1944. Later, in 2007, the school added her to its hall of fame.

Hoover went to Wellesley College. She studied classical and medieval philosophy and history. In 1948, she graduated with honors. She earned a bachelor's degree. She was also honored as a Durant Scholar. In 1951, she earned her PhD from Yale University. Her advanced degree was in philosophy and the foundations of mathematics.

Personal Life

While at Yale, Erna met Charles Wilson Hoover, Jr. They got married in 1953. At that time, she was teaching at Swarthmore College. She taught there from 1951 to 1954. Erna and Charles had three daughters.

Career at Bell Labs

Teaching and Transition to Technology

From 1951 to 1954, Hoover was a professor at Swarthmore College. She taught philosophy and logic. She found it hard to get a permanent teaching job. Some people think this was because she was a woman or married. Her husband strongly supported her career goals.

In 1954, they moved to Summit, New Jersey. Her husband got a new job at Bell Laboratories. Erna found it difficult to find a teaching job there. So, she joined Bell Labs too, as a senior technical associate. She was promoted in 1956. The training program at Bell Labs was like getting a master's degree in computer science.

Solving Phone System Overloads

Phone systems were changing from old electronic parts to new computer technology. A big problem happened when many calls came in at once. Thousands of calls could overwhelm the system. This would cause the whole system to "freeze up."

Hoover used her knowledge of symbolic logic and feedback theory. She programmed the phone system's controls. Her program used information about incoming calls to manage the system. It gave higher importance to tasks that handled calls coming in and going out. Less important tasks, like record keeping, had lower priority. This way, the computer could automatically adjust how many calls the center accepted. This greatly reduced the problem of system overloads. Her system became known as stored program control.

The Invention and Its Impact

Erna Hoover thought of her invention while in the hospital. She was recovering after giving birth to her second daughter. Lawyers from Bell Labs had to visit her at home. She was on maternity leave and needed to sign the patent papers.

Her invention made phone service much more reliable during busy times. She explained her idea:

To my mind it was kind of common sense ... I designed the executive program for handling situations when there are too many calls, to keep it operating efficiently without hanging up on itself. Basically it was designed to keep the machine from throwing up its hands and going berserk.

Hoover received patent #3,623,007 in November 1971. The patent was for her invention, called Feedback Control Monitor for Stored Program Data Processing System. This was one of the first software patents ever given. The patent was applied for in 1967 and issued in 1971.

Because of her invention, she became the first woman supervisor of a technical department at Bell Labs. In 1987, she led the operations support department. The ideas behind her invention are still used in phone equipment today.

Later Career and Retirement

Hoover also worked on advanced projects. This included research for radar control programs. These were for the Safeguard Anti-Ballistic Missile System. Her department worked on artificial intelligence methods. They also handled large databases and software for big phone networks. She worked at Bell Labs for 32 years. She retired in 1987.

She also served on boards for higher education in New Jersey. As a board member for The College of New Jersey, she was a visionary. She helped increase the number of women faculty. She also helped enroll the best high school graduates in the state. She worked hard to get state funding. This helped build the college into a respected institution of higher education.

Awards and Legacy

Erna Hoover received one of the first patents for computer software. In 2008, she was chosen as a member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. She also received an alumni achievement award from Wellesley College. In 2020, The College of New Jersey gave her an honorary degree. This was for her work in higher education in New Jersey. In 2023, she received the Pioneer Award from the National Center for Women & Information Technology.

Her invention created the foundation for today's connected communication systems. While her original system has changed over time, its basic ideas are still used. Erna Schneider Hoover's work continues to impact our smooth and efficient communication networks. This is especially true in how businesses talk to customers. Her life's work not only changed the phone industry but also opened doors for future generations of women in science and technology.

See also

In Spanish: Erna Schneider para niños