Information | Details |
---|---|
Date of birth | 10 January 1938 |
Nationality | American |
Residence | Stanford, California |
Education | Case Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology |
Occupation | Computer scientist, mathematician, professor emeritus |
Donald Knuth is an American computer scientist, mathematician, and professor emeritus at Stanford University. He is best known for his work in the field of computer science, particularly for his multi-volume work The Art of Computer Programming. He is also the creator of the TeX typesetting system, the related METAFONT font definition language and rendering system, and the Computer Modern family of typefaces. Knuth has been called the "father of the analysis of algorithms".
Knuth received the 1974 Turing Award, informally known as the "Nobel Prize of computing", for his major contributions to the analysis of algorithms and the design of programming languages. In addition, he received the 1977 ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award, the 1980 National Medal of Science, and the 1985 John von Neumann Medal. He was also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.
Knuth is a prolific author, having written over a dozen books and over 150 published papers. His writings are known for their clarity, depth, and humor. He has also written extensively on recreational mathematics, including the books Surreal Numbers and Concrete Mathematics.
Donald Knuth was born on 10 January 1938 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to German-American parents. He attended the Case Institute of Technology (now Case Western Reserve University) in Cleveland, Ohio, where he earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1960. He then attended the California Institute of Technology, where he earned a master's degree in mathematics in 1963 and a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1968.
Knuth began teaching at Caltech in 1968 and moved to Stanford University in 1979, where he has been a professor emeritus since 1993. He has also held visiting positions at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, and at the University of Oxford in England.
Knuth's research has focused on the analysis of algorithms and the design of programming languages. He is best known for his multi-volume work The Art of Computer Programming, which is widely considered to be the definitive work on the subject. He is also the creator of the TeX typesetting system, the related METAFONT font definition language and rendering system, and the Computer Modern family of typefaces.
Knuth has written extensively on recreational mathematics, including the books Surreal Numbers and Concrete Mathematics. He has also written several books on computer programming, including the books Literate Programming and Structured Programming with go.
Knuth has received numerous awards for his work, including the 1974 Turing Award, the 1977 ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award, the 1980 National Medal of Science, and the 1985 John von Neumann Medal.
Knuth has had a long-standing relationship with the computer scientist and entrepreneur Steve Jobs. In the early 1980s, Jobs invited Knuth to Apple Computer's headquarters in Cupertino, California, to discuss the possibility of creating a version of TeX for the Apple Lisa computer. The two men became friends, and Jobs later invited Knuth to be a part of the Macintosh project.
Knuth has also had a long-standing relationship with the computer scientist and entrepreneur Bill Gates. In the early 1980s, Gates invited Knuth to Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Washington, to discuss the possibility of creating a version of TeX for the IBM PC. The two men became friends, and Gates later invited Knuth to be a part of the Windows project.
Knuth is known for his witty and insightful quotations. Some of his most famous quotes include:
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
"Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not tried it."
"Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes."
"The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do."
Knuth has been criticized for his views on software patents. In a 1995 interview, he stated that he was "not a fan of software patents" and that he believed that "software patents are a bad thing". He has also been criticized for his views on copyright, which he has described as "a form of censorship".
Knuth is an avid reader and collector of books. He has an extensive library of over 10,000 books, and he is known to have read every book in his library at least once.
Knuth is an avid chess player and has written several books on the game, including the book Chess: A Game of Strategy. He is also an avid bridge player and has written several books on the game, including the book Bridge: A Game of Strategy.