Edward Fredkin papers

Edward Fredkin began his career at MIT in 1956, when the Air Force assigned him to work at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory. He left soon after to work for Boston consulting firm Bolt, Beranek, and Newman, and in 1961 founded Information International Incorporated (Triple-I). In 1968 Fredkin returned to MIT as a full professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering (renamed the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1975). He continued as a professor in EECS until 1985. From 1971 to 1974, Fredkin served as director of Project MAC, which, during the time of his directorship, focused on the development and improvement of a computer time-sharing system. Project MAC became the Laboratory for Computer Science in 1976, and in 2003 it merged with the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory to become the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).

Fredkin has led an active career outside of academia, serving as an IT consultant to large companies such as IBM, Digital, and Motorola. He has also been on the board of directors, served as CEO, and founded more than a dozen companies.