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Dai Edwards (engineer)

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For other people named David Edwards, see David Edwards (disambiguation).

Dai Edwards
Born(1928-03-14)14 March 1928
Tonteg, South Wales
Died11 November 2020(2020-11-11) (aged 92)
Alma materUniversity of Manchester (Ph.D.)
Known for
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Manchester
Doctoral advisorFrederic C. Williams

David "Dai" Beverley George Edwards (14 March 1928 – 11 November 2020)[1][2] was a Welsh computer engineer. He is notable for his pioneering work on the series of digital computers developed at the University of Manchester from the 1940s to the 1980s, and as co-inventor of virtual memory.[3]

Early life

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Edwards was born in Tonteg, South Wales, the only child of Cecilia (née George) and William Edwards.[3]

Career

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In 1945 Edwards enrolled at the University of Manchester to read physics. After graduating in 1948 he became a research student working for Professor F.C. Williams in the Department of Electro-Technics on the Small-Scale Electronic Machine (SSEM) computer, also known as "The Baby", the world's first stored-program computer.[4][5][6][7]

Edwards subsequently worked on the Manchester Mark 1 computer, improving the cathode-ray tube (CRT) memory, extending the machine's instruction set, and implementing programmable data transfers between the magnetic storage drum and the CRT.[8]

He was awarded his M.Sc. in 1949, was appointed Lecturer in 1950[4]: 185  and gained his Ph.D.[9] for his work on the "Megacycle Machine" (MEG) which was commercialised by Ferranti in 1957 as the Mercury computer. In 1959 he led the engineering team for the MUSE/Atlas computer.[4]: 208  This led to his co-invention, with Tom Kilburn, Frank Sumner and M.J. Lanigan, of virtual memory.[10]

In 1964 he joined the University's newly-created Department of Computer Science as Reader,[4]: 211  and in 1965 he and Kilburn established the Department's undergraduate programme. He was appointed Professor of Computer Engineering in 1966.[5]

He worked on the design of the experimental MU5 computer (1968–1982), which led to the ICL2900 series, and also worked on MU6 (1982–1987).[11]

He served as Head of the Department of Computer Science (1980–1987),[12][13] Dean of the Faculty of Science (1982–1983)[14] and retired from the University in 1988.[3]

Personal life

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In 1953 Edwards married Betty Duckworth, who died in 1977. In 1979 Edwards married Jane Ellis.[3]

Selected publications

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  • Kilburn, T.; Tootill, G.C.; Edwards, D.G.B.; Pollard, B.W. (1 October 1953). "Digital computers at manchester university". Proceedings of the IEE – Part II: Power Engineering. 100 (77).
  • Kilburn, T; Edwards, D.B.G.; Lanigan, M.J.; Sumner, F.H. (1962). "One-Level Storage System"". IRE Transactions on Electronic Computers. 2: 223–235. doi:10.1109/TEC.1962.5219356.
  • Edwards, D.B.G.; Aspinall, D.; Kilburn, T. (1964). "Design principles of the magnetic tape system for the Atlas computer". Radio and Electronic Engineer. 27 (1): 65–73.
  • Edwards, D.B.G., Lanigan, M.J. and Kinniment, D.J., 1964, September. High-speed ferrite-core storage system. In Proceedings of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (Vol. 111, No. 9, pp. 1501-1510). IEE.
  • Edwards, David BG, Alan E. Knowles, and J. V. Woods. "MU6-G. A new design to achieve mainframe performance from a mini-sized computer." In Proceedings of the 7th annual symposium on Computer Architecture, pp. 161-167. 1980.
  • Edwards, Dai (Summer 2013), "Designing and Building Atlas", Resurrection: The Bulletin of the Computer Conservation Society, 62: 9–18, ISSN 0958-7403

References

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  1. ^ Lavington, Simon. "Audio Interview: Dai Edwards and Yao Chen". Chilton Computing. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  2. ^ Edwards, Dr D.B.G. (1962). "Computer Memories". Discovery II. Arco Publications. p. 68.
  3. ^ a b c d Lavington, Simon (28 December 2020). "Dai Edwards obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d Broadbent, T.E. (1998). Electrical Engineering at Manchester University: The story of 125 years of achievement. The Mancherster School of Engineering, University of Manchester. ISBN 0953120309.
  5. ^ a b Lavington, Simon. "Obituary: Prof. Dai Edwards". Computer Resurrection, the Journal of the Computer Conservation Society. Winter 2020/21 (92).
  6. ^ Rojas, Raul; Hashagen, Ulf (2002). The First Computers: History and Architectures. MIT Press. p. 381. ISBN 9780262181976.
  7. ^ Lavington, Simon (1980). Early British Computers. Manchester University Press. p. 37. ISBN 0719008107.
  8. ^ Wilkes, Maurice; Kahn, Hilary J. (1 December 2003). "Tom Kilburn CBE FREng. 11 August 1921 – 17 January 2001". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 49: 283–297.
  9. ^ Edwards, D.B.G. (1954). "The Design and Construction of an Experimental High Speed Digital Computer (Ph.D. thesis)". Proquest. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  10. ^ Kilburn, T; Edwards, D.B.G.; Lanigan, M.J.; Sumner, F.H. (1962). "One-Level Storage System"". IRE Transactions on Electronic Computers. 2: 223–235. doi:10.1109/TEC.1962.5219356.
  11. ^ "David 'Dai' Edwards". British Library Voices of Science. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  12. ^ Sumner, James (2024). "Two Manchester computing traditions". In Jones, Stuart (ed.). Manchester Minds. Manchester University Press. p. 232. ISBN 9781526176325.
  13. ^ "University of Manchester Department of Computing Science Collection: Dai Edwards Papers". Jisc Archives Hub. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  14. ^ "Dai Edwards". Digital 60 Manchester: 60 Years of the Modern Computer. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
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Academic offices
Preceded by Head of the Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester
1980–1987 		Succeeded by
John Gurd
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