Joseph Hilsenrath

Joseph Hilsenrath

Joseph Hilsenrath (1912-2004) was a pioneer of information science.

Life

Joseph Hilsenrath was born in Poland in 1912. He immigrated to the United States and earned degrees from State Teachers College of New Jersey (BA, MA) and Renssaelar Polytechnic Institute (BS).

Source: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/joseph-hilsenrath-obituary?id=5504826

Relevant Employment

• National Bureau of Standards (NBS)

Contributions

Instructor Math and Physics, College of Paterson (NJ) 1939-40; Instructor, Public School in NY 1940-42; Instructor in Physics, Newark College 1942; Coordinator of graduate training, U.S. Naval Ord. Lab 1946-48; NBS: Physical Science Administrator 1948-55; Administrative Physicist 1955-60; Chief Equation, State Secretary 1960-68; Program Manager Data Systems Design 1968-?; Interested in thermodynamics, thermodynamic properties, theoretical and experimental equation of state, research administration, design and application of user-oriented digital computer systems.

P. 254 of the following NIST (formerly National Bureau of Standards) contains the information below. http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/sp958-lide/254-257.pdf

Joseph Hilsenrath began his career at NBS in 1948, first as a scientist/mathematician specializing in employee training, then as an experimental researcher in high pressure physics, after which he became Chief of the Equation of State Section of the Heat Division. As the first computers became available at NBS, he became interested in the preparation of tables of thermodynamic data and in putting computer know-how in the hands of Everyman. His OMNITAB statistical packages received wide use in NBS and other Government agencies. He moved to the Office of Standard Reference Data in 1967, where he led the development of computerized typesetting methods that saw use throughout the Government. He retired in 1974, but for many years remained active in NBS reference data activities.

A detailed obituary summarizing his work at NIST appeared in the Standards Alumni Association Newsletter of NIST in June, 2004, p. 15.

P. 254 of the following NIST (formerly National Bureau of Standards) contains the above information. http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/sp958-lide/254-257.pdf

Listed below are two of his major publications:

• OMNIDATA: an interactive system for data retrieval, statistical and graphical analysis and data-base management. A user's manual Hilsenrath, Joseph; Molino, Bettijoyce Breen. Washington, D.C., National Bureau of Standards, National Measurement Laboratory, 1978, 294p (1978).
• Beyond data retrieval: an outline of the unique data features of the NBS OMNIDATA System. Molino, Bettijoyce Breen; Hilsenrath, Joseph. Washington, D.C., National Bureau of Standards, 1979, 7p.

Awards

Department of Commerce:

• Service Award, 1962
• Gold Medal, 1971

Offices

• ASIS Pres. 1956

PAPERS

No information.

An oral history was conducted in 1982. The citation is:

Joseph Hilsenrath Oral History

Conducted by Joseph Cameron and W. Reeves Tilley on October 29, 1982.

Transcript on file at the NIST Archives, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg. MD.

Permission from NIST Library required for use and citation.

Abstract: Joseph Hilsenrath discusses his long and distinguished career at NBS. He recalls his work in the Thermodynamic Tables Project where he developed the OMNITAB software system. He also recalls his contribution to the training programs at NBS - in particular, the Post Doctoral Program. Hilsenrath ends his interview with a discussion of the efforts which led to the establishment of electronic typesetting operations at NBS.

Source: NIST Library, 2013