Our Founding Vision
It was the mid-1980s, and computer science was advancing by leaps and bounds. Ron Kay, recently retired from IBM Research, got a call from Norbert Szyperski, a longtime friend who was head of Germany’s Society for Mathematics and Information Technology. Together, the pair formed a vision for an international collaboration that would bring benefits for research, businesses, and society not only in Germany and the United States, but worldwide.
Computer science is a field that is particularly well suited for global collaboration, with methods and goals that are readily translated across language, history, and culture. Kay and Szyperski determined that an independent research institute—affiliated with a U.S. university but not part of its bureaucratic structures—would provide the optimal environment. Szyperski persuaded the German government to provide initial funding; a German delegation later selected Berkeley, California, as the ideal place for the institute.
In crafting the institute and the fellowship structures that would bring international researchers to it, the founders wanted to create something that would be more than a resume-enhancer for young researchers or a source of research assistance for faculty. They wanted to create a place where visitors could unleash their full potential and accomplish something truly meaningful—for themselves and the field.
A Record of Success
While Germany provided the initial support for the institute, an international Board of Directors became the vehicle for the subsequent participation of many other countries. Since 1988, ICSI has hosted more than 650 visiting postdocs and hundreds of additional senior scientists and students, serving as a catalyst for international talent exchange and long-term global collaboration.
