MN90: The Opticom
Since the 1970’s intersections all over Minnesota use a special traffic management system developed by a local company by the name of-you guessed it-3M. Producer Allison Herrera tells us about the Opticom. [Read Transcript...]
Technology
MN90: Minnesota’s Original Crash Test Dummy
Mechanical engineer James Ryan sometimes went to extremes to pursue auto safety. His invention, the retractable seatbelt, was adopted in 1966 after two decades of repeated testing and innovation. Producer Allison Herrera tells us how Ryan's invention helped save thousands of lives. [Read Transcript...]
MN90: The Father of Supercomputing
Seymour Cray (1925-1996) led the design of the world’s first commercial supercomputer in the late 1950s. By the 1970s, his company, Cray Research, based in Minneapolis and Chippewa Falls, Wisc., was the world’s leading maker of supercomputers. Cray’s machines were known for their elegance and simplicity, but most of all for their speed. MN90 producer Marisa Helms tells us Cray was known as a quirky genius whose innovations changed the world of supercomputing forever. [Read Transcript...]
MN90: Back to the Digital Future
At a time when most popular music is available digitally, it’s taken for granted that analog recording is a thing of the past. But few people realize that it was at Sound 80 studio in Minneapolis that the historic transition to digital recording likely first took place. MN90 Producer Andi McDaniel shares that story. [Read Transcript...]