Type Theory Forall #48 Bell Labs - David MacQueen
In this episode we continue with our conversation with David MacQueen, he is an Emeritus Professor from the University of Chicago, and has worked at Bell Labs for 20 years.
Bell Labs began as the research and development section of the American Telephone and Telegraph company, aka AT&T, which originally hold exclusive hold of the telephone patent. Once that expired in the 1800s they needed to develop new technology to prove that it was still the best company, and hence Bell Labs was born.
Over the course of the years this fascinating institution has registered more than 26 thousand patents, among of which we have the transistor, the laser, the solar cell and communication satellites. Over the course of the last 88 years they were awarded a jaw dropping amount of 10 Nobel prizes and 5 Turing awards.
In this interview David MacQueen shares with us how was it like to work in such an incredible institution during it’s golden age. He shares insights about the technology, the space, the people, the management style, and much more!