Xia Peisu was a computer scientist from China who had a great contribution to the development of computational technology and participated in building the first computer in China. Because of her contributions, she was considered as “the mother of computer science in China,” and received a lifetime achievement award that was given by the Chinese computer federation. Xia was born in 1921 and died at the age of 91 in 2014. She was a pioneer in the field of computer science and the development of earlier computer systems in the 20 century.
In her earlier career, she earned a Ph.D. degree from the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. After she returned to China in 1952, she became a researcher at Tsinghua University. During her time at Tsinghua University, the contribution she had made included:
1. Being a member of the scientist Hua Luogeng’s team(The first team to build a digital computer in Chinese history) to develop the first prototype and design of a digital computer in China.
2. She wrote and published a book about the early mechanisms of digital computational technology, which had benefited the field of education of computer science in China.
3. In 1960, her team successfully made the first functional prototype of a digital computer, it was called No.107.
In her career, she also founded a science journal called “Journal of Computer Science and Technology.” She was the first editor of the journal.
Her contributions were definitely significant to the history of Interaction design. The field interaction design was derived from the invention of digital technology. Human-Computer interaction is a field that combines technology, design principles, and humanity. What she had done in history allows us to explore the connection between humans and technology. Moreover, her contribution to computer science education in China was also important to the history. Lots of talented people were cultivated from her education approaches.
Bibliography
“Xia Peisu (1923-2014)”, THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, 2020, Edinburgh, https://www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/about/international-womens-day/xia-peisu
“The computer pioneer who built modern China”, BBC News, 2020, https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200219-xia-peisu-the-computer-pioneer-who-built-modern-china
‘Founding of the Chinese academy of sciences’ Jiuchun, Zhang, and Zhang Baichun, institute of computing technology’, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 2007.
Missing bibliography and references.