The Birth of the Pointer Variable A powerful but potentially dangerous programming language facility! Harold “Bud” Lawson, Inventor of the Pointer Variable Concept and Recipient of the prestigious IEEE Charles Babbage Computer Pioneer Award Harold “Bud” Lawson has been a leading pioneer in the computing and systems arenas. In this seminar he will share some of the significant highlights from the early part of his career that led to the introduction of the pointer variable concept in programming languages. His experiences and reflections have recently been published in a chapter of the book Reflections on the History of Computing: Preserving Memories and Sharing Stories (IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology). Bud Lawson’s professional career began in 1959 under the leadership of the legendary Real Admiral Dr. Grace Murray Hopper at Remington Rand Univac in Philadelphia. During his long career he participated in several pioneering developments in software, hardware and computer based systems. For his invention of the pointer variable concept in programming languages he was awarded the prestigious IEEE Charles Babbage Computer Pioneer award in 2000.