Well, it was bigger than a breadbox . . . . We were still a generation away from laptops, but UC astronomer Paul Herget nevertheless found that a room-sized computer was faster and more accurate than a room full of mathematicians and engineers. In the 1950s, professor Herget [A&S '31, MA (A&S) '33, PhD (A&S) '35, HonDoc '78] used his Beecher Hall basement computer (above) to pioneer the use of electronic calculation for the orbits of planets, asteroids and satellites. Meanwhile, the standard classroom and laboratory tool for ciphering was the ol' slipstick, or slide rule. Now the slide rule is a collectible, and hand calculators are the rule.

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