ILLIAC I (the second of two computers) was the brainchild of Abraham H. Taub (a mathematician) and became operational in 1952.
The ILLIAC I (Illinois Automatic Computer), a pioneering computer in the ILLIAC series of computers built in 1952 by the University of Illinois, was the first computer built and owned entirely by a United States educational institution. The ILLIAC I became operational on September 1, 1952. Abraham Haskel Taub (/tb/; February 1, 1911  August 9, 1999) was a distinguished American mathematician and physicist, well known for his important contributions to the early development of general relativity, as well as differential geometry and differential equations. The project was the brainchild of Ralph Meagher and Abraham H. Taub, who both were associated with Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study before coming to the University of Illinois. 
