Short Description
The Heinz von Foerster, Gordon Pask & Cybernetics Archives contain the scientific estate of physicist and cyberneticist Heinz von Foerster (1911-2002). Thanks to his close ties to his native city of Vienna, Heinz von Foerster donated the archive, which he previously had held at his home in California, to Albert Mueller (1959-2019) at the Department of Contemporary History in 2000.
Subsequently, British cyberneticist Ranulph Glanville (1946-2014) strove to transfer the estate of British cyberneticist Gordon Pask (1928-1996) to Vienna as well.
Paul Pangaro, who had researched and worked with Gordon Pask for many years, donated his extensive Paskiana collection to the Department, which is now known as the distinct collection “Paul Pangaro's Pask Collection (PPPC)”.
Smaller donations enriched the collections. Donors included Thomas von Foerster, Robert Martin, Paul Schroeder and Frank Galuszka.
Glanville also established contact with Richard Jung, who lived as an emeritus professor in Kutna Hora, Czech Republic, and made his scientific estate and central parts of his correspondence available.
A small collection of the American Society of Cybernetics (ASC), which had previously been held at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, was also transferred to Vienna.
The cybernetics collections were expanded by the scientific Vorlass of Stuart Umpleby and the partial Vorlass of Warren Brodey.
After Ranulph Glanville's death, his estate was added to the collections.
The Archives contain mainly paper-based documents, as well as numerous other types of media: scientific publications, papers, manuscripts, original documents, drafts, books, objects, photos, slides, film, video, audio-visual storage media, digital storage media.
Contact Person
Mag. Marcus J. Carney
Research Services
Personal support, by e-mail first; telephone per appointment; on site at the Library of Contemporary History; holdings research; materials manipulation (handling); production of digital copies and copies.
Methods & Expertise for Research Infrastructure
Access for academics, students, processing and consultation of inquiries;
digital; analog; physical archival research; partial presence archive (facilitation upon request).
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (U.S.A.)
Carnegie Mellon University - Architecture - Laboratory for Cybernetics, Pittsburgh (U.S.A.)
Northeastern University, College of Arts, Media and Design, Boston (U.S.A.)
Masaryk University Brno, Faculty of Arts, Department of Musicology (CZ)
Alpen Adria University Klagenfurt, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Education, Department of Philosophy (AT)
The University of Texas at Dallas | Bass School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology (AHT)
ANU Australian National University School of Cybernetics, Canberra (AUS)
Ernst von Glasersfeld Archives, Forschungsinstitut Brenner-Archiv, University Innsbruck (AT)
The Karl Popper Archives, Universtity Library Klagenfurt (AT)
LABORATORY FOR CYBERNETICS - Experimental studio offering resources and collaborations for engaging wicked challenges;
Re-Braiding Cybernetics & Artificial Intelligence; 2025-2028.
Jill Fain Lehman, Senior Project Scientist, Human-Computer Interaction Institute CMU
Paul Pangaro, Director, Laboratory for Cybernetics, CMU Architecture, and President of American Society for Cybernetics
Sam Lemley, Curator of Special Collections, CMU Libraries
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY - ARCHITECTURE
https://www.architecture.cmu.edu/laboratory-cybernetics
Marcus J. Carney, The Heinz von Foerster, Gordon Pask & Cybernetics Archives
PAST:
THE HEINZ VON FOERSTER LECTURES:
13.11.2002 Heinz von Foerster Lecture 02 Siegfried J. Schmidt
13.11.2003 Heinz von Foerster Lecture 03 Dirk Baecker
15.11.2004 Heinz von Foerster Lecture 04 Ranulph Glanville
13.11.2006 Heinz von Foerster Lecture 06 Louis H. Kauffman
13.11.2008 Heinz von Foerster Lecture 08 Oswald Wiener
12.11.2010 Heinz von Foerster Lecture 10 Alfred Inselberg
18.11.2013 Heinz von Foerster Lecture 13 Stuart A. Umpleby
10.11.2014 Heinz von Foerster Lecture 14 Bernard Scott
20.06.2017 Heinz von Foerster Lecture 17 Paul Pangaro
13.11.2017 Heinz von Foerster Lecture 17 Bill Seaman
12.11.2018 Heinz von Foerster Lecture 18 Josef Mitterer
27.11.2019 Heinz von Foerster Lecture 19 Peter Ablinger
28.11.2022 Heinz von Foerster Lecture 22 Hans Rudi Fischer
EXHIBITION:
HEINZ VON FOERSTER (1911-2002)
Fachbereichsbibliothek Zeitgeschichte und Osteuropäische Geschichte - Standort Zeitgeschichte, Universität Wien
Ausstellungsdauer 13.11.-18.12.2008
Eine Kooperation mit dem Institut für Zeitgeschichte und der Heinz-von-Foerster-Gesellschaft
EXHIBITION:
GORDON PASK ON SCIENCE AND ART: A RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION ON A BRITISH CYBERNETICIAN
F.A.U.P. - ESPAÇO DO MUSEU, Rua do Gólgota, 215, 4150-755 Porto, Portugal
1 st to the 15 th of June 2009
A COOPERATION BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY OF OPORTO AND THE UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA
CURATED BY Gonçalo Furtado and Albert Müller
ORGANIZED BY Gonçalo Furtado, Albert Müller and Rui Póvoas
EXHIBITION:
RANULPH GLANVILLE - Art Ι Architecture Ι Cybernetics Ι Design
London and the 1960-ies
Exhibition Ι Lectures Ι Performances
19. Mai bis 13. Juni 2016
e c h o r a u m
Sechshauser Straße 66, A-1150 Wien
ISBN 978-1-119-98430-6
Bill Seaman, The Architecture of Ideas: The Life and Work of Ranulph Glanville, Cybernetician (2022)
ISBN 9781788360784
EDITION ECHORAUM:
https://www.echoraum.at/edition/wisdomechoraum.htm
Albert Müller Ι Karl H. Müller [Eds.]): An Unfinished Revolution?
ISBN 978-3-901941-12-2
Gordon Pask: The Cybernetics of Self-Organisation, Learning and Evolution
ISBN 978-3-901941-25-2
Ranulph Glanville: The Black Boox Vol. I - Cybernetic Circles
ISBN 978-3-901941-19-1
Ranulph Glanville: The Black Boox Vol. II - Living in Cybernetic Circles
ISBN 978-3-901941-20-7
Ranulph Glanville: The Black Boox Vol. III - 39 Steps
ISBN 978-3-901941-21-4
Ranulph Glanville Ι Alexander Riegler [Ed.]: The Importance of Being Ernst
ISBN 978-3-901941-14-6
Ranulph Glanville Ι Karl H. Müller [Ed.]: Gordon Pask, Philosopher Mechanic
ISBN 978-3-901941-15-3
Ranulph Glanville et al.: Trojan Horses
ISBN 978-3-901941-38-2
Richard Jung: Experience and Action
ISBN 978-3-901941-13-9
Bernard Scott: Explorations in Second-Order Cybernetics
ISBN 978-3-901941-26-9
Gonçalo M. Furtado C. Lopes: Gordon Pask’s Encounters
ISBN 978-3-901941-18-4
Karl H. Müller: The New Science of Cybernetics Vol. I Methodology
ISBN 978-3-901941-10-8
Karl H. Müller: The New Science of Cybernetics Vol. II: Theory
ISBN 978-3-901941-16-0
Karl H. Müller: The New Science of Cybernetics Vol. III: Research and Design Rules
ISBN 978-3-901941-22-1