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Oxford Women in Computing: An Oral History

These oral history interviews, conducted by Georgina Ferry, capture the stories of pioneering women at the forefront of research, teaching and service provision for computing in Oxford, 1950s-1990s. Themes throughout the interviews include career opportunities, gender splits in computing, the origins and development of computing teaching and research in Oxford, as well as development of the University of Oxford's Computing Service and the commercial software house the Numerical Algorithms Group (NAG). The Oxford Women in Computing oral history project is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), through grants held by Professor Ursula Martin, and forms part of a broader project on the development and impact of computing. The project also acknowledges support from NAG Ltd, Oxford Mathematics, Oxford IT services, and the Bodleian Libraries. Album cover: Communications programmer Esther White in the early days of the University of Oxford’s Computing Service. © University of Oxford.

# Episode Title Description People Date
14 Interview with Leonor Barroca, senior lecturer in Computing at the Open University Georgina Ferry interviews Leonor Barroca as part of the Oxford Women in Computing Oral History project. Barocca recounts her time on the MSc Computing course at Oxford University and studying and teaching posts at the Universidade do Minho in Portugal. Georgina Ferry, Leonor Barroca 20 Jan 2020
13 Interview with Carol Bateman, former training and information manager for the Oxford Computing Service Georgina Ferry interviews Carol Bateman as part of the Oxford Women in Computing Oral History project. Bateman discusses her route into computing via Glasgow University, and progression of the Oxford Computing Service. Georgina Ferry, Carol Bateman 20 Jan 2020
12 Interview with Carol Bateman (part 2), former training and information manager for the Oxford Computing Service Carrying on from episode 2, in the second part of Georgina Ferry's interview with Carol Bateman she discusses the professional computing community and needs of users of the Oxford Computing Service in the late 1980s-early 1990s. Georgina Ferry, Carol Bateman 20 Jan 2020
11 Interview with Shirley Carter, founding member of the Numerical Algorithms Group (NAG) Georgina Ferry interviews Shirley Carter as part of the Oxford Women in Computing Oral History project. Carter recounts early experiences of programming, her computer science lectureship at Liverpool in the 1970s and the formation and development of NAG. Georgina Ferry, Shirley Carter 20 Jan 2020
10 Interview with Jana Colchester, former programming teacher at Marconi College and University of Essex Georgina Ferry interviews Jana Colchester as part of the Oxford Women in Computing Oral History project. Colchester discusses working in the Oxford Computing Labs, lecturing and teaching at a range of further and higher education institutions. Georgina Ferry, Jana Colchester 20 Jan 2020
9 Interview with Jana Colchester (part 2), former programming teacher at Marconi College and University of Essex Carrying on from episode 5, this second part of Georgina Ferry's interview with Jana Colchester includes Colchester discussing attitudes relating to gender in the maths and computing professions. Georgina Ferry, Jana Colchester 20 Jan 2020
8 Interview with Julia Dain, former research assistant for the Programming Research Group (PRG) Georgina Ferry interviews Julia Dain as part of the Oxford Women in Computing Oral History project. Dain recounts her traineeship at Marconi company, studying Maths at Oxford and working in the computer science department at Warwick University. Georgina Ferry, Julia Dain 20 Jan 2020
7 Interview with Eleanor Dodson, computational methods developer of Protein Crystallography Georgina Ferry interviews Eleanor Dodson as part of the Oxford Women in Computing Oral History project. Dodson discusses her time as research technician for Dorothy Hodgkin, use of the Oxford Computing Service and Collaborative Computational project no.4. Georgina Ferry, Eleanor Dodson 20 Jan 2020
6 Interview with Linda Hayes, former head of User Services at the Oxford Computing Service Georgina Ferry interviews Linda Hayes as part of the Oxford Women in Computing Oral History project. Hayes discusses her diploma in Numerical Analysis and Automatic Computing at Cambridge, and working for the Oxford Computing Service 1965 onwards. Georgina Ferry, Linda Hayes 20 Jan 2020
5 Interview with Linda Hayes (part 2), former head of User Services at the Oxford Computing Service Carrying on from episode 9, the second part of Georgina Ferry's interview with Linda Hayes includes her recount her time at St. Cross College and the origins of the university single sign on system. Georgina Ferry, Linda Hayes 20 Jan 2020
4 Interview with Jill Hoare, former programmer for Elliott Brothers and the NHS Georgina Ferry interviews Jill Hoare as part of the Oxford Women in Computing Oral History project. Hoare discusses early experiences of coding and programming, work at Stanford University in 1973 and working on hospital systems for NHS Oxfordshire. Georgina Ferry, Jill Hoare 20 Jan 2020
3 Interview with Susan Hockey, Emeritus Professor of Library and Information Studies, University College London Georgina Ferry interviews Susan Hockey as part of the Oxford Women in Computing Oral History project. Hockey discusses digital humanities research, management and organisations, and her work for Oxford Computing Service from 1975-1991. Georgina Ferry, Susan Hockey 20 Jan 2020
2 Interview with Susan Hockey (part 2), Emeritus Professor of Library and Information Studies, University College London Carrying on from episode 12, part 2 of Georgina Ferry's interview sees Susan Hockey discussing observations of gender split within the computing profession. Georgina Ferry, Susan Hockey 20 Jan 2020
1 Interview with Jennifer Scott, Professor of Mathematics at University of Reading, and Individual Merit Research Fellow at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Georgina Ferry interviews Jennifer Scott as part of the Oxford Women in Computing Oral History project. Scott discusses her D Phil in the Oxford Computing Lab, her fellowship at St. John's college and leading the Numerical Analysis Group at Rutherford Georgina Ferry, Jennifer Scott 20 Jan 2020