Seymour Cray in Car Accident
Charles Richmond
I heard this story on CBS radio news. I have *not* heard it confirmed by
any other news source.
Apparently, Seymour Cray was involved in a three-car accident on an
interstate highway in Colorado, USA on Sunday, September 22nd. He was
reported to be in critical condition (and on life support systems) in a
hospital in Colorado Springs, with massive head injuries. Since Mr. Cray
is 70 years old this year, I know that it is difficult for him to
recover from such injuries.
Can anyone else post more details about this? Where on the WEB can I
find a news story concerning this accident.
[In case you have lived in a cave for the last 30 years, Seymour Cray is
the pre-eminent designer of Super-Computers. He is the founder of Cray
Computer, and designed the best machines made by Control Data from the
1960's.]
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| Charles and Francis Richmond
<rich...@plano.net> |
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Derek Peschel
In article <32489A...@plano.net>,
Charles Richmond <rich...@plano.net> wrote:
>I heard this story on CBS radio news. I have *not* heard it confirmed by
>any other news source.
It was in the San Jose Mercury News recently (within the last two days).
They have a web site http://www.sjmercury.com/ but they make you pay to search
for stories, even recent ones. They may still have the story available for
free. I haven't checked.
>hospital in Colorado Springs, with massive head injuries. Since Mr. Cray
>is 70 years old this year, I know that it is difficult for him to
>recover from such injuries.
The article also mentioned a broken neck, I believe.
>Can anyone else post more details about this? Where on the WEB can I
>find a news story concerning this accident.
One car tried to do something reckless. In the process, it hit a second car,
which hit Cray's Jeep. The driver of the first car has been arrested. Cray
was the only person (of ten) in his Jeep who was seriously hurt.
-- Derek
Derek Peschel
In article <32489A...@plano.net>,
Charles Richmond <rich...@plano.net> wrote:
>I heard this story on CBS radio news. I have *not* heard it confirmed by
>any other news source.
It was in the San Jose Mercury News. From their web site
(http://www.sjmercury.com/) without permission:
CRAY COMPUTER FOUNDER HANGING ON TO LIFE
Published: Sept. 24, 1996
Associated Press
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Supercomputer pioneer Seymour Cray battled
for his life Monday after breaking his neck and severely injuring his
head in a traffic accident blamed on a careless driver.
Cray, 70, founder of Cray Computer Corp., was in critical and unstable
condition at Penrose Hospital, spokeswoman Kate Brewster said. He
underwent surgery to relieve brain swelling after the accident Sunday.
Cray's Jeep Cherokee rolled three times after the driver of a
Chevrolet Camaro tried to pass him and then struck another car, which
slammed into Cray's vehicle. The other motorists weren't injured.
Daniel Rarick, 33, of Colorado Springs was cited for careless driving
causing serious bodily injury, said Colorado State Patrol Sgt. Rob
Wilson.
Cray, who devoted his life to trying to develop the world's fastest
supercomputers, is a legendary figure in the industry.
''He is the Thomas Edison of the supercomputing industry, '' said
Larry L. Smarr, director of the National Center for Supercomputing
Applications at the University of Illinois.
John Rollwagen, former chairman of Cray Research Inc., said Cray ''has
had a profound effect on the development of computers.''
''We wouldn't have the kinds of airplanes and cars that we have now if
it hadn't been for him,'' said Rollwagen, now chairman of Computer
Network Technology Corp. of Plymouth, Minn.
Supercomputers, which calculate billions of scientific problems per
second, are used for weather forecasting, automobile crash simulation,
oil exploration and drug research.
In 1957, Cray co-founded Control Data Corp., where he built the first
computer to use radio transistors instead of vacuum tubes. The
transistors made the machines more reliable and allowed for the
miniaturization of components, which enhanced the performance of
desktop computers.
In the 1960s, he designed the world's first supercomputer at Control
Data, then left in 1972 and co-founded Cray Research Inc.
There, he built the Cray-1 and Cray-2 supercomputers, which helped the
defense industry create sophisticated weapons systems and the oil
industry construct geographic models that predicted mineral deposits.
In 1989, Cray spun off research on the next generation of
supercomputer into Cray Computer Corp., but never found a buyer for
the Cray-3.
Cray began work on the Cray-4, but time and money ran out when he
failed to raise $20 million for operating costs and filed for
bankruptcy in March 1995. It closed soon afterward, putting more than
400 people out of work.
In August, Cray re-emerged with a new company called SRC Computers
Inc.
Tom Harrington
Charles Richmond (rich...@plano.net) wrote:
: I heard this story on CBS radio news. I have *not* heard it confirmed by
: any other news source.
Yes, it's true. It's received copious coverage in the local news,
including front-page newspaper photos of his car after the crash.
: Can anyone else post more details about this? Where on the WEB can I
: find a news story concerning this accident.
I don't have web access from this site, but a good guess would be
at www.usa.net/gazette, which is the online version of the Colorado
Springs Gazette-Telegraph, the one local daily paper. They've had
2 or 3 front page stories about it this week, so I'd expect they
have something on their web page about it.
--
Tom Harrington ------- t...@rmii.com ------- http://rainbow.rmii.com/~tph
"Freedom of choice is what you got! Freedom from choice is what
you want!" -Devo
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