About Tom Jennings (dba World Power Systems)

I make things, mostly technological, but don't hold me to that, consistency is not a human virtue. Electronics and software, cast iron and plastics, microcontrollers in vintage automobiles, faux historical machinery that could (not) have been; finely crafted, rigorously rugged, reliable, most often.

A lot of what I make now gets called "art" though that's not always how I think of it, but saying so ends a lot of questioning. I am the major repository of technical crafts, practical philsophy, and the physics of programming at the ACE (Arts Computation Engineering) program at UC Irvine, where a large part of my job is teaching and mentoring graduate students in technical arts. I recieved an MFA from this program in 2009.

A very large number of brain cells are devoted to doing strange things with old automobiles. I wring aerospace-level reliability from my ancient Ramblers, commuting 100 miles/day in objects that ought not be running at all. It helps that they were quite good things to start with, so long ago.

I do most of my work under the guise of World Power Systems, a vague entity with dubious past and an uncertain future.

I'm reasonably obsessed with the early history of electronic (notice I did not say "digital") computing, especially of the non-stored-program sort. I collect, and read, a lot of original technical and scientific material in my favorite period (more or less, 1938-1964), including little bits I've put online here and have a pretty good grasp of what Thomas Kuhn calls the 'integrity of a discarded mode of thought', at least from this peculiar period.

Contact: Tom Jennings <tomj @ wps . com>




Resume
About my work Industry and science were a major part of my life from a very young age. I grew up in a cold-hearted rural suburb, my father an electron...
Resume of Tom Jennings My main strength is synthesis -- problem-solving across multiple discipline boundaries. These days my main focus is my art. Computers, soft...
Curriculum vitae of Tom Jennings Works, employment, awards and honors, shows experience, and exhibitions, ... ...