Erna Schneider Hoover
The Telephone Switch That Stopped Failing
Computerised call switching under load
Rating
85Impact score
Domains
TelephonyReal-time systemsLoad control
Scouting report
At Bell Labs she designed a computerised switching system that monitored incoming call rates and prioritised work to stop exchanges collapsing under peak load, holding one of the first software patents for it. She reportedly sketched the design while in hospital after giving birth, and became the first woman supervisor of a technical department there.
Curator’s note
Solved overload in telephony before anyone called it backpressure.
Portrait
Painted from a photograph of Erna Schneider Hoover by Unknown authorUnknown author, licensed Public domain.
Sources
- 01Erna Schneider Hoover en.wikipedia.org
- 02National Inventors Hall of Fame invent.org