Like, Totally Transformative: CMU in the 1980s

Carnegie Mellon University entered the ‘80s as a well-respected regional university, but President Richard Cyert's vision at the start of the decade would help turn CMU into an international leader in innovation, technology, and the arts.

Before long, robotics, computer software, and the Internet were integral parts of the campus. In 1984, Terregator—the “world’s first rugged, capable, autonomous outdoor navigation robot”—was completing its field testing at CMU. In 1985, the university began working with Apple founder Steve Jobs to develop part of the Mach operating system that ran on his NeXT computer workstation. In 1986, CMU launched the Andrew system, a joint endeavor between IBM and CMU to create the world’s first university-wide computer network and file system.

This growth led the university to develop a comprehensive video marketing plan that attracted the attention of high school guidance counselors, parents, and students from around the country.

By the decade’s end, the university experience had transformed in ways few could have imagined. Like, Totally Transformative: CMU in the ‘80s is a portal to the past, a snapshot of life on campus more than four decades ago as our world began to transform!