IFIP Working Group 9.7 (History of Computing) has entered a new chapter with the appointment of Dr Kishor Chandra Satpathy as Chair. Dr Satpathy succeeds Dr Christopher Leslie, who led the WG from 2017 to 2024 and will continue supporting WG 9.7 as Secretary.
Established in 1992, WG 9.7 operates within IFIP Technical Committee 9 (ICT and Society) and serves as an international forum for the study and preservation of computing history. The WG brings together historians and scholars of technology, computing professionals, and museum, archive and public-history specialists dedicated to preserving and promoting computing heritage.
Dr Satpathy’s appointment marks an important milestone as he becomes the first Chair of WG 9.7 from Asia. He is also only the fourth Chair in the Working Group’s history, following John AN Lee, John Impagliazzo, Arthur Tatnall and Dr Leslie.
His appointment also reflects one of the WG’s central themes: the importance of preserving computing history through libraries, museums, archives and public collections. Dr Satpathy is Chief Librarian and Head of the Library, Documentation & Information Science Division at the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata, where he also oversees the Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis Memorial Museum & Archives.
Over more than two decades, he has contributed extensively to library leadership, digital scholarship, cultural preservation, indigenous and traditional knowledge systems, and the safeguarding of intellectual heritage. He has published widely, edited multiple books, and contributed to international professional networks across Asia, Europe, North America, Australia and the United Kingdom.
WG 9.7 has long championed the view that computing history is not simply the story of technological invention emerging from a small number of well-known centres. Rather, computing has evolved through local and transnational efforts involving governments, universities, laboratories, schools, professional societies, companies and communities across the world.
During Dr Leslie’s leadership, the WG strengthened this international and comparative focus. He organised workshops including International Communities of Invention and Innovation in New York City in 2016, Histories of Computing in Eastern Europe in Poznań in 2018, and Histories of Computing in Asia in Phuket in 2024. These events helped expand international scholarship and visibility for regional computing histories that have often been underrepresented in English-language research.
Dr Leslie also contributed more broadly to IFIP discussions on diversity, equity and inclusion in computing, as well as the future direction of computing history scholarship. His interdisciplinary work at Prince of Songkla University in Thailand has explored connections between computing, culture, language, gender, power and situated knowledge.
The appointment of Dr Satpathy opens new opportunities for WG 9.7, particularly in areas such as preservation, digitisation, archival engagement and public memory. His leadership also aligns with the WG’s ongoing commitment to broadening participation and strengthening recognition of computing histories across Asia and other regions deserving greater visibility.
Looking ahead, WG 9.7 is expected to hold its next workshop in Kolkata. With Dr Satpathy as Chair and Dr Leslie continuing as Secretary, the group remains well positioned to advance international collaboration in the history of computing and to support the preservation of computing heritage for future generations.