About the seminar

The Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum (HNF) in Paderborn, Germany, is a place for young pupils and grown ups alike to learn about the history of computers and information technology. In addition to the main exhibition our museum also cooperates with universities to teach computer science students about the origins of their field of study and to spark their interest in this topic. This is very important for us because we want to make sure that future generations will carry on telling the story of how it all began.

In our talk we will present our university cooperation projects including a comprehensive computer history lecture with hands-on exercises as well as current and planned reconstruction projects (Shannon’s Theseus and Nixdorf’s first electronic accumulator).

About the speakers

Dr. Jochen Viehoff is the director of the Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum in Paderborn, Germany, since 2013. After finishing his doctoral thesis in theoretical physics he worked as a lecturer at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne before moving to Paderborn. Besides his work at the museum he is also a professional photographer and co-organizes several photo exhibitions.

Johannes Blobel is a PhD student at the Paderborn University since 2015. His main research focus lies on energy efficient communication systems. In addition to his main research he works for the HNF on computer reconstruction projects and interactive installations and gives a computer history lecture for computer science Bachelor students.

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