Bill Richardson, who graduated from Auburn in 1969 with a master’s degree in electrical engineering, spent 26 years working for International Paper (IP) at a time when computer-control innovation was on the rise. Richardson and a team of co-workers, including Auburn engineering alums John Botts (’64 and ’66 mechanical engineering) and Wayne Dobson (’69 electrical engineering), pioneered such efforts for the company, resulting in the first fully computer-controlled paper mill in the world in 1981. Richardson recently detailed the team’s experiences of building a paper mill around the computer for the Computer History Museum of Mountain View, Calif. His report can be found in the museum’s permanent archive collection.
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AUBURN ENGINEERING NEWS
- #GINNing Podcast: CEE standout to serve as Auburn Engineering graduation marshal December 4, 2025Connor May, a graduating senior in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, will serve as Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering graduation marshal at its fall commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 13.
- ‘Computer science is a transparent thread that binds disciplines together’: Faculty member in CSSE presents ideas at international forum December 3, 2025Daniela Marghitu recently shared her vision as a panelist at “Reforming the Culture of Inclusion in Science for Sustainable Development Goals,” an international online forum co-hosted by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
- Civil and environmental engineering professor honored with ACI Boase Award December 2, 2025Civil and environmental engineering Professor Andrzej Nowak received the ACI Arthur J. Boase Award for influential research advancing structural concrete design and safety.