Whipped Cream Difficulties

The first two doctorates in computer science in the United States were awarded on June 7, 1965.

One of them was awarded to Irving C. Tang. I can’t find a lot of information online about him, though I think this might be his obituary.

The other one was awarded to Sister Mary Kenneth Keller, of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Yes, that’s right: one of the first computer science PhDs in the United States wasn’t just a woman, but a nun. And a good Cleveland girl.

Sister Kenneth’s life took an interesting turn when, as a high school math teacher on the west side of Chicago in her mid-40s, she “read the signs of the times andas early as 1961 responded by enrolling at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire for her first workshop in computer education.” As Sister Kenneth told it, “I just went out to look at a computer one day, and I never came back. … It looked to me as if the computer would be the most revolutionary tool for doing math that I could get.”

This is a recent biographical paper about Sister Keller, who passed away in 1985. She sounds like a very interesting person: she had a long career teaching (at one point, she sat down with Buckminster Fuller to discuss “how computers could augment his work”) and as an administrator who pioneered the use of computers in administration. She was also an early advocate for microcoputers in education.

Sister Kenneth had a keen sense of humor. She was often recruited by phone to job openings around the country, and she would politely listen to the pitch. When the topic of salary came up, she would surprise the recruiter by saying, “You know, I couldn’t accept a salary since I’ve taken the vow of poverty.”