Roy Nutt; Helped Develop Computer Software

Roy Nutt, 59, co-founder and director of Computer Sciences Corp., who was well-known for the development of programming languages for business and scientific uses of computers and his contributions to the advancement of software technology. Upon his graduation with a degree in mathematics from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., he joined United Aircraft Corp. in 1953 to work in programming research and development. He became one of the early experts in the field of systems programming, the basic instructions that control a computer and simplify its use. He joined with another computer expert, Fletcher Jones, to found Computer Sciences in 1959. The two men, each 28, shared the company’s $100 capitalization. Within a few years, their young company was called on to develop the entire software suite for the Univac 1107, an advanced machine of that day. CSC now is among the largest independent professional-services companies in the computer industry, with annual revenues of $1.5 billion and a work force of 22,000. With headquarters in El Segundo, it provides computer and communications systems and services to clients from 300 locations worldwide. In Seattle on Thursday after a yearlong bout with cancer.