General News and Notes.

This article presents information related to developments in the computer industry. Five universities have been selected to share $10 million in cash grants from the International Business Machines Corp. to establish new programs for graduate-level engineering education in manufacturing systems. The schools each will receive approximately $2 million. Over the next four years, the five universities will develop curricula leading to advanced degrees in manufacturing systems. The courses will integrate the disciplines of engineering, computer science and business planning. Richard D. DeLauer, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, has issued a Department of Defense Directive that will be the interim policy on computer programming languages for the department. It specifically addresses high order languages in mission-critical defense applications. The Computer Science Department of the University of Southwestern Louisiana is forming a repository for raw materials related to microprogramming and firmware engineering.