In 1946, Louis N. Ridenour was named the new dean of the Graduate College of the University of Illinois. Ridenour had previously worked at the MIT Radiation Laboratory, where he befriended Wheeler Loomis, who, by 1946 was the head of the physics department at UIUC, and one of the main reasons that Ridenour was attracted to the University.
Ridenour's technical background and strong desire for the University to remain at the forefront of science lead him to assemble an advisory committee of interested faculty to investigate acquiring a state-of-the-art digital computer for the University of Illinois soon after being hired as dean.
During his three years as dean, Ridenour was also instrumental in establishing the Control Systems Laboratory, the Digital Computer Laboratory, and the Radio Carbon Laboratory, as well as a microbiology group and solid state group (wiki).
