Sharla Boehm, the programmer whose code underpins the Internet

Summary

Sharla Boehm earned a teaching degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, before she channeled her talent for math into computer programming. While working at the RAND Corporation, she built a groundbreaking simulation, originally conceived to strengthen military communications during the cold war. The simulation—and her work—would ultimately lay the foundation for the modern Internet. LISTEN TO THE PODCASTOn supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.TRANSCRIPTArchival: What if a warning siren sounds? What should you do? Don’t hesitate. Find cover.Katie Hafner: In the early 1960s, the United States and the Soviet Union were in a treacherous standoff. Each side was on high alert, with a growing stockpile of nuclear weapons — ready to launch at the first sign of an attack.U.S. authorities weren’t just worried about how to weather an initial attack. They worried about how they would mount a counterattack if a bomb knocked out communications.After all, these fragile systems were highly vulnerable to nuclear attack. If one bomb hit just right, all military communications could go down, leaving the entire country essentially defenseless.So, the U.S. military put scientists to work. Their charge: to invent a communications network that could survive an attack. And on the team was one scientist who created an ingenious computer simulation — using 1960s-era computers.Doug Rosenberg: As a piece of programming, it’s just unthinkable that she could do what she did. I mean, beyond comprehension.Katie Hafner: And then, she would all but disappear into history as soon as her work was done.Katie Hafner: This is Lost Women of Science. I’m Katie Hafner. And today we have the story of Sharla Perrine Boehm, a brilliant computer programmer — and so mu...