<s>
WEIZAC	B-Device
(	O
Weizmann	B-Device
Automatic	I-Device
Computer	I-Device
)	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
computer	O
in	O
Israel	O
,	O
and	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
large-scale	O
,	O
stored-program	O
,	O
electronic	O
computers	O
in	O
the	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
built	O
at	O
the	O
Weizmann	O
Institute	O
during	O
1954	O
–	O
1955	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Institute	O
for	O
Advanced	O
Study	O
(	O
IAS	B-Device
)	O
architecture	O
developed	O
by	O
John	O
von	O
Neumann	O
and	O
was	O
operational	O
until	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
1963	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WEIZAC	B-Device
was	O
widely	O
used	O
by	O
Israeli	O
scientists	O
and	O
researchers	O
and	O
helped	O
with	O
the	O
advancement	O
of	O
science	O
and	O
technology	O
in	O
the	O
young	O
nation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
all	O
computers	O
of	O
its	O
era	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
a	O
one	O
of	O
a	O
kind	O
machine	O
that	O
could	O
not	O
exchange	O
programs	O
with	O
other	O
computers	O
(	O
even	O
other	O
IAS	B-Device
machines	I-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
WEIZAC	B-Device
project	O
was	O
initiated	O
by	O
Prof	O
.	O
Chaim	O
L	O
.	O
Pekeris	O
,	O
who	O
worked	O
at	O
the	O
IAS	B-Device
at	O
the	O
time	O
von	O
Neumann	O
's	O
IAS	B-Device
machine	I-Device
was	O
being	O
designed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
WEIZAC	B-Device
project	O
also	O
provided	O
an	O
opportunity	O
for	O
mathematicians	O
and	O
engineers	O
to	O
move	O
to	O
Israel	O
without	O
sacrificing	O
their	O
professional	O
careers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WEIZAC	B-Device
was	O
an	O
asynchronous	O
computer	O
operating	O
on	O
40-bit	O
words	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Punched	O
paper	O
tape	O
was	O
used	O
for	O
I/O	B-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
later	O
,	O
in	O
1958	O
,	O
magnetic	O
tape	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
memory	O
was	O
initially	O
a	O
magnetic	B-General_Concept
drum	I-General_Concept
containing	O
1,024	O
words	O
which	O
was	O
later	O
replaced	O
with	O
a	O
much	O
faster	O
4,096	O
word	O
magnetic-core	O
memory	O
module	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
1955	O
,	O
WEIZAC	B-Device
performed	O
its	O
first	O
calculation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subsequently	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
used	O
to	O
study	O
problems	O
like	O
worldwide	O
changes	O
in	O
tide	O
,	O
earthquakes	O
,	O
atomic	O
spectroscopy	O
,	O
X-ray	O
crystallography	O
,	O
random	O
walk	O
methods	O
,	O
numerical	B-General_Concept
analysis	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
other	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
numerically	B-General_Concept
calculated	O
the	O
eigenvalues	O
of	O
a	O
two-electron	O
atom	O
quantum	O
system	O
based	O
on	O
programming	O
by	O
Yigal	O
Accad	O
who	O
put	O
Pekeris	O
 '	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
relevant	O
equations	O
into	O
machine	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WEIZAC	B-Device
was	O
kept	O
constantly	O
busy	O
,	O
and	O
users	O
(	O
especially	O
from	O
other	O
institutions	O
)	O
became	O
increasingly	O
frustrated	O
with	O
not	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
get	O
computing	O
time	O
,	O
and	O
demanded	O
more	O
computers	O
to	O
become	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WEIZAC	B-Device
's	O
success	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
recognition	O
of	O
the	O
demand	O
for	O
computers	O
and	O
digital	O
technology	O
in	O
Israel	O
,	O
and	O
ultimately	O
,	O
provided	O
the	O
foundation	O
for	O
Israel	O
's	O
computer	O
and	O
technology	O
industries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Until	O
1961	O
,	O
WEIZAC	B-Device
was	O
the	O
only	O
computer	O
in	O
the	O
State	O
of	O
Israel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
operated	O
until	O
29	O
December	O
1963	O
and	O
was	O
replaced	O
by	O
a	O
commercially-built	O
computer	O
,	O
a	O
CDC	B-Device
1604A	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
the	O
institute	O
's	O
staff	O
began	O
constructing	O
the	O
locally	O
designed	O
GOLEM	B-Application
–	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
ILLIAC	B-Device
II	I-Device
architecture	O
,	O
but	O
with	O
several	O
improvements	O
which	O
resulted	O
in	O
significantly-reduced	O
volume	O
and	O
power	O
consumption	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
5	O
December	O
2006	O
,	O
WEIZAC	B-Device
was	O
recognized	O
by	O
the	O
IEEE	O
as	O
a	O
milestone	O
in	O
the	O
history	O
of	O
electrical	O
engineering	O
and	O
computing	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
team	O
who	O
built	O
it	O
was	O
awarded	O
the	O
"	O
WEIZAC	B-Device
Medal	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
