born March 11, 1915, St. Louis, Mo., U.S.
died June 26, 1990, Arlington, Mass.
U.S. scientist.
He studied math and physics and received a doctorate in psychology from the University of Rochester (N.Y.). He lectured at Harvard University before joining the faculty at MIT (1949–57, 1966–85). As a group leader at the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in the 1960s, he encouraged research into time-sharing and helped lay the groundwork for computer networking and ARPANET, the predecessor of the Internet . He is known for his extensive work on human-computer interaction and interfaces. His influence led to the first American advanced-degree programs in computer science.