Presentation Date: August 22, 2013
Glen S. Miranker
Overview
Glen Miranker was born in New York City in July 1953; the eldest of three brothers. His father Willard Miranker was an applied mathematician at IBM Research; his mother Phyllis was a homemaker. During Glen's childhood, the family lived a year each in Switzerland, Pasadena, California and Jerusalem. He completed high school in New York City. Glen's early interests included electronics, radio, and physics. In 1976; he married Catherine Wedge; they have two daughters.
Glen's education:
-- BA (Summa Cum Laude, Tau Beta Pi) Computer Science, Yale College, 1975
-- MS Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1977
-- PhD Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1979
-- John and Fannie Hertz Foundation Fellowship, 1976-1979
He made a career in computer start-up companies (retiring as Chief Technology Officer for hardware at Apple Computer in 2005). He now pursues two long-standing passions:
-- a book collection devoted to Sherlock Holmes
-- the study of the history of cryptography
Active in research and preservation projects connected with wartime cryptography in the U.S., Glen consults frequently with the National Cryptologic Museum at Fort Meade, Maryland. He has restored German military Enigma code machines and fabricated replica Enigma light bulbs. He donates the latter to organizations such as Bletchley Park, UK and the Canadian War Museum.
Glen is also engaged in varied Sherlockian pursuits that include research, writing, giving talks, and advising libraries. During the 150th anniversary of Arthur Conan Doyle's birth, he helped organize a symposium at Harvard, as well as delivering a talk and co-curating a related exhibition.
His current Board positions, reflecting both his technological and bibliographic interests, include the:
-- Rosalind Russell Arthritis Foundation
-- National Cryptologic Museum
-- Toronto Reference Library
-- Arthur Conan Doyle Collection
Academic Positions as an Adjunct Professor in Computer Science at:
-- Columbia University, 1979-1981
-- University of California, Berkeley, 1984-1985
Corporate Experience:
-- Research Staff Member at IBM Research, Yorktown, NY, 1979-1981
-- Numerous computer-related startup companies, various llocations, 1981-1996
-- Vice-President Hardware Systems Development, Apple Computer, Inc., 1996-2003
-- Chief Technology Officer (Hardware), Apple Computer, Inc., 2003-2004