Fayetteville in Washington County, Arkansas — The American South (West South Central)

Wide Area Bar Code Reader

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, May 20, 2023

1. Wide Area Bar Code Reader Marker

Inscription. The most widely implemented automated mail sorting equipment in the world – the Wide Area Bar Code Reader – was developed by the University of Arkansas' College of Engineering. A $50,000 grant from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to Professors Dwight F. Mix and J.E. Bass in 1989 began the research and development effort. By 1999, more than 15,000 University of Arkansas bar code readers were located in every major USPS facility, increasing the efficiency of processing 20 billion pieces of mail a year at a savings of $200 million. This R&D effort has spawned four additional electronic systems to help the USPS “read the mail.”

Erected 2000 by Arkansas Alumni Association.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Communications • Science & Medicine. A significant historical year for this entry is 1989.

Location. 36° 4.035′ N, 94° 10.314′ W. Marker is in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in Washington County. It is on North Campus Walk north of West Dickson Street, on the left when traveling west. Marker is between the Bell Engineering Center and Daniel E. Ferritor Hall at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville.

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 319 N Campus Walk, Fayetteville AR 72701, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Northwest Arkansas,

on the Ozark Plateau,

in the Cherokee Heritage Region,

and in Osage Territory.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Ozarks.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Statistical Avian Ecology (a few steps from this marker); Superconductivity (within shouting distance of this marker); Cotton Stacking (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Phi Alpha Theta (about 400 feet away); Medal of Honor (about 400 feet away); Nuclear Chemistry (about 400 feet away); Gray Hall (about 600 feet away); Buchanan Hall (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, May 20, 2023

2. Wide Area Bar Code Reader Marker

of all markers in Fayetteville.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 26, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 25, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 284 times since then and 32 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 25, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.