IBM supercomputer Watson will compete against Jeopardy champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter in a first-of-its-kind competition to be aired February 14-16. Watson is the product of four years of work by 25 scientists at the Thomas J. Watson Research Headquarters in Yorktown Heights, NY. It's the 50-year anniversary of the completion of Yorktown facility, which was designed by Eero Saarinen. Saarinen is known for other major works in the United States, including the St. Louis Arch. The Watson lab is considered one of the last, if not the last, of the major historical American technology research labs still in existence and functioning. Above: Bust of Thomas J. Watson Sr. Watson Sr. (1874–1956) was hired in 1914 to manage the merger of the three companies that combined to become International Business Machines. Over the next several decades Watson built one of the most important companies in American business history, a firm that would play a central role in the development of computers. A technology pioneer, IBM holds vastly more patents for inventions than any other American company. "IBM is not merely an organization of men; it is an institution that will go on forever," Watson was fond of saying.

Dr. Dennard's Office Chalkboard Dr. Robert H. Dennard, 78, invented dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, in 1966 while working at the Watson Lab. Dennard, an IBM Fellow (1979), was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. He still comes to work every day at the Yorktown lab where he has worked for over 50 years.

IBM Fellows Wall Inside the Cafeteria Being named an IBM Fellow is the highest honor an IBM scientist can receive and it is awarded by the CEO. Note Benoit B. Mandelbrot, the father of fractal geometry (IBM Fellow 1974).

Cafeteria Saarinen wanted the cafeteria to have a warm, oaky, collegial vibe, almost like a cross between the Telluride Grand Lodge and the Yale Club. "His vision was tweedy men walking around with pipes," Hall said. Times have changed.

Auditorium The Jeopardy set is broken down. Watson "lives" underneath the auditorium in a climate-controlled room manned by security guard.

Time Capsule "IBM Information Capsule placed at dedication of Thomas J. Watson Research Center April 25, 1961"

Two Hallways Diverge at the Watson Research Center

Research Labs Need Power

Protective Clothing

Reflection of the Woods in a Lab Door

Library Table and Chairs This massive slate table of unknown but immense weight is in the middle of the library. "It's only been moved once," Hall said. It has a Saarinen-designed beveled edge that slopes underneath the rim of the table. The chairs are also re-upholstered Saarinen originals. Saarinen observed that "women like to curl up in chairs," so he made one that people could curl up in, Hall said.

Caution: Hazardous Materials

Inside the Lab

IBM Watson Research Center Back View View out of the back of the building into the parking lot, which is hidden behind the crescent in the shape of an oval, or "eye," as Hall explained. Viewed from the air, the complex looks like a giant eye aimed skyward, toward the heavens.

Think A classic Watson Sr. motto, the word "Think" was emblazoned all over IBM. "Watson Sr. used to tell his scientists every day to 'Think,'" said Jennifer Hall, an IBM Research veteran and the in-house institutional memory of IBM Research in Yorktown. (Hall, whose husband is a scientist is Yorktown, was absolutely invaluable in understanding the history of the building and the lab.) Company stationary, notepads, and even matchbooks, bore the word "Think," which was also the origin of the ThinkPad laptop computers. "Think" appears above the entrance to the auditorium.