UCLDH Seminar Series: Ada Lovelace, a scientist in the archives

Ada Lovelace, a scientist in the archives

2015 saw the 200th birthday of Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), often described as “the first programmer” and famous for a remarkably prescient paper about Charles Babbage’s unbuilt computer, the analytical engine. At the heart of the 200th birthday celebrations in Oxford are the archives of Lovelace family papers, in particular Lovelace’s “correspondence course” with the Augustus De Morgan (1806-1871, UCL’s first professor of mathematics), and a new study in progress with the first professional historians of mathematics to work on this material.

In this seminar Professor Ursula Martin will present Lovelace’s life and work; and reflect on the challenges and excitement for a newcomer to the world of scientific archives; the opportunities and dangers of a relentless push for impact; and what the legacy of this 200th anniversary celebration might be.

Ursula Martin is currently a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Oxford, where she holds an EPSRC Established Career Fellowship. Prior to this she held a chair of Computer Science in the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science at Queen Mary University of London, were she was a Vice Principal (2005-09) and subsequently led a major project on research impact. She led Oxford’s celebrations of the bicentennial of Ada Lovelace, and curated a display at the Bodleian Library which subsequently transferred to the US.