ORGANIZATION: Documentation Incorporated
ACTIVE DATES: 1951-
ADDRESS:
E-MAIL:
PERSONS INVOLVED: Gerald J. Sophar; Mortimer Taube.
MAJOR PROJECTS: COMAC; EDIAC.
OTHER INFORMATION: Mortimer Taube founded to do more research based on the uniterm approach and in the field of classification and subject headings; Published Studies in Coordinate Indexing (by Taube) which discussed principles for establishing and combining Uniterms in coordinate indexes; Searched for more efficient storage and retrieval devices; Developed the IBM 9900 Special Index Analyzer, referred to as COMAC (Continuous Multiple Access Collator); COMAC was a punched card collator which made logical relationships among subject terms; Used with the IBM 9900, the IBM 305 RAMAC would printout results from searches of subject terms; Eventually switched from the RAMAC to the IBM 1401 computer.

Developed mechanized data processing centers for handling scientific and technical information; Operated a technical center for NASA, which provided NASA with a combination abstract and citation journal with a machine-produced index covering NASA reports and aquisitions, regular bibliographies in certain areas of aeronautical and space sciences, microfilm reproductions of NASA reports, a high-speed reference service, and magnetic copies of the index to the total NASA collection; Produced for sale Computexts, a series on magnetic tape designed for computer print-out of selected materials.

Projects conducted or proposed included: 1. description of basic concepts of storage and search theory; development of basic logic and mathematics of coding for storage and retrieval, and descriptions of various types of memories; 2. integrated data-processing system for the screening of chemical compounds; 3. examining problems of automatic dictionaries and basic studies in automata and the logic of nerve nets; 4. EDIAC, an experimental electronic random access searching device; 5. determination of applicability of modal logic to such fields as computing machinery and the exploration of basic unresovled problems in this type of logic; 6. processing of 100,000 test reports for the Cancer Chemotherapy National Service Center; Was bought out by LEASCO, Inc. which was then bought by Alliance (?) Corp.

SOURCE:

PAPERS AT:
LOCATION
Few files in personal possession of Taube's daughter, who lives in Maryland.
PAPERS DATES:
SIZE:
INCLUDES:
SOURCE: Phone conversation with Jerry Sophar 5/95.


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