Scott Campbell

Scott M. Campbell is a Systems Design Engineering Lecturer and Director of CSTV (Centre for Society, Technology and Values) at the University of Waterloo.

His research revolves around the role of technology in Canadian society, specifically the history of computing technology and science in Canada. He is also a co-founder of the Computer Museum in the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science.

In 2013, Dr. Campbell published an article about the history of WATFOR, a student-oriented Fortran compiler first created by 4 undergraduates at the University of Waterloo in 1965, followed by many other educational languages and application packages. These publications helped put the University of Waterloo on the map and establish its reputation for innovation.

Another recent article of Dr. Campbell’s is “Backwater Calculations for the St. Lawrence Seaway and the First Computer in Canada”, an examination of the role of electronic computing methods in the planning of the St. Lawrence Seaway, published in the Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering.

His 2006 doctoral dissertation, “The Premise of Computer Science: Establishing Modern Computing at the University of Toronto (1945-1964)” details the first Canadian attempts to join the world of modern computing in the decades after WWII. It culminates with the first graduate computer science department in Canada at the University of Toronto, and several other undergraduate departments at the University of Alberta, the University of Western Ontario, and the University of Waterloo.

• History of Computers, History of Women in Computing, History of Computing in Canada, History of Technology and Science,

• 2006, Doctorate History of Technology, University of Toronto, Canada

• 2002, Master's History of Technology, University of Toronto, Canada

• 1999, Bachelor's Computer Science, University of Waterloo, Canada

• HIST 212 - The Computing Society
  • Taught in 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
• STV 100 - Society, Technology and Values: Introduction
  • Taught in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
• STV 210 - The Computing Society
  • Taught in 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
• STV 302 - Information Technology and Society
  • Taught in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• Scott Campbell, Backwater Calculations for the St. Lawrence Seaway and the First Computer in Canada, Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 1164, 2009

• Scott Campbell and Zbigniew Stachniak, Computing in Canada: Building a Digital Future, , 0, 2009

• Scott M. Campbell, The Premise of Computer Science: Establishing Modern Computing at the University of Toronto (1945-1964), Ph.D. Thesis, University of Toronto, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Toronto, 0, 0000

• Scott M. Campbell, A Short History of Analog Computers and Differential Analyzers, Joint Colloquium: Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, 0, 0000

• Scott Campbell, `WAT' Forever: Computing Education at the University of Waterloo, SIGCIS History of Computing Workshop, Society for the History of Technology, , 2010