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'''Donald Ervin Knuth''', born on January 10, 1938, in [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]], is an acclaimed [[computer science|computer scientist]], [[Mathematics|mathematician]], and [[Emeritus Professor#Other positions:|professor emeritus]] at Stanford University.  As the author of the widely-cited, multi-volume ''[[The Art of Computer Programming]]'' <ref name="ArtCP">
{{cite web|url=http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/taocp.html
|title="The Art of Computer Programming" (an overview of each volume)
|author=Donald Knuth
|accessdate=2007-09-25}}
</ref>, Knuth contributed significantly to the analysis of [[Algorithm|algorithms]].  He is also known for having created the [[TeX]] typesetting system and of the [[METAFONT]] font design system, and pioneering the concept of [[literate programming]]. Professor Knuth has accumulated a number of [[#Honors_and_Awards|honors and awards]].


'''Donald Ervin Knuth''', born January 10, 1938, is a renowned [[computer science|computer scientist]] and [[Emeritus Professor#Other positions:|professor emeritus]] at [[Stanford University]].  As the author of the widely-cited, multi-volume ''[[The Art of Computer Programming]]'' <ref>http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/taocp.html</ref>, Knuth contributed significantly to the field of rigorous [[analysis of algorithms]].  He is also known for creating of the [[TeX]] typesetting system and of the [[METAFONT]] font design system, and pioneering the concept of [[literate programming]].
__TOC__


==Education and academic work==
==Academic achievements==
Born in [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]], he received his [[bachelor's degree]] and [[master's degree]] in [[mathematics]] (simultaneously, his B.S. work being regarded as deserving a masters degree) in 1960 at the [[Case Western Reserve University|Case Institute of Technology]] (now part of [[Case Western Reserve University]]). In 1963, he earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from the [[California Institute of Technology]], where he became a professor and began work on ''[[The Art of Computer Programming]]'', originally planned as a seven-volume  series. In 1968, he published the first volume. That same year, he joined the faculty of [[Stanford University]].  
In 1960, Knuth simultaneously earned a [[bachelor's degree]] and [[master's degree]] in [[mathematics]] from the [[Case Western Reserve University|Case Institute of Technology]] (now part of [[Case Western Reserve University]]). In 1963, he earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from the [[California Institute of Technology]], where he became a professor and began work on ''[[The Art of Computer Programming]]'', originally planned as a seven-volume  series.  


In 1971, Knuth was the recipient of the first [[Association for Computing Machinery|ACM]] [[Grace Murray Hopper Award]]. He has received various other awards including the [[Turing Award]], the [[National Medal of Science]], the [[John von Neumann Medal]] and the [[Kyoto Prize]].  After producing the third volume of his series in 1976, he expressed such frustration with the nascent state of the then newly developed electronic publishing tools (esp. those which provided input to phototypesetters) that he took time out to work on typesetting and created the [[TeX]] and [[METAFONT]] tools.  
In 1968, he joined the faculty of [[Stanford University]] and published the first volume of ''[[The Art of Computer Programming]]''. In 1976, after producing the third volume of ''[[The Art of Computer Programming]]'', Knuth created the influential [[TeX]] and [[METAFONT]] tools as a result of his frustration with the electronic publishing tools used to provide input to photo-typesetters. In 1990, Stanford awarded Knuth the singular academic title of ''Professor of the Art of Computer Programming'', which was revised to ''Professor [[Emeritus]] of the Art of Computer Programming''  upon his 1992 retirement from teaching at [[Stanford University]].  Knuth continued work on ''[[The Art of Computer Programming]]''.  By 2004, revised versions of the first three volumes had been re-issued, and Knuth continued working on volume four, excerpts of which are released periodically on his website.  


In recognition of Knuth's contributions to the field of [[computer science]], in 1990 he was awarded the singular academic title of ''Professor of the Art of Computer Programming'', which has since been revised to ''Professor [[Emeritus]] of the Art of Computer Programming''.
Since 1990, Knuth has declined to use electronic mail, declaring it to be too inefficient and time-consuming.  Instead, a secretary monitors an email account on his behalf. He corresponds in "batch mode", such as one day every three months, to be sent by [[postal mail]].<ref name="KnuthEmail">{{cite web
| url=http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/email.html
In 1992 he became an associate of the [[French Academy of Sciences]]. Also that year, he retired from regular research and teaching at [[Stanford University]] in order to finish ''[[The Art of Computer Programming]]''. In 2003 he was elected as a Fellow of the [[Royal Society]]. [[As of 2004]], the first three volumes of his series have been re-issued, and Knuth is currently working on volume four, excerpts of which are released periodically on his website. Meanwhile, Knuth gives informal lectures a few times a year at [[Stanford University]], which he calls Computer Musings.  He is also a visiting professor at the [[Oxford University Computing Laboratory]] in the [[United Kingdom]].
| title=Email (let's drop the hyphen)
| author=Donald Knuth
| accessdate=2007-09-30
}}</ref>  In recent years, Knuth has given informal lectures a few times a year at [[Stanford University]], which he calls Computer Musings.  He is also a visiting professor at the [[Oxford University Computing Laboratory]] in the [[United Kingdom]].


In addition to his writings on computer science, Knuth is also the author of ''3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated'' (1991), ISBN 0-89579-252-4, in which he attempts to examine the Bible by a process of [[stratified sampling|stratified random sampling]], namely an analysis of chapter 3, verse 16 of each book. Each verse is accompanied by a rendering in calligraphic art, contributed by a group of calligraphers under the leadership of [[Hermann Zapf]].
==Honors and Awards==
 
# In 1971, Knuth was the first recipient of the [[Grace Murray Hopper Award]]<ref name="AcmAwards">
==Knuth's humor==
{{cite web|url=http://awards.acm.org/listing.cfm|
Knuth is a [[famous programmer]] known for his [[geek]] [[professional humor]].
title=Awards given by the ACM|
 
publisher=http://www.acm.org/ (Association for Computing Machinery)|
*He pays a [[knuth reward check|finder's fee of $2.56]] for any typos/mistakes discovered in his books, because ''"256 pennies is one hexadecimal dollar".'' (His bounty for errata in ''[[3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated]],'' is, however, $3.16). According to an article in [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]]'s ''Technology Review'', these reward checks are "among computerdom's most prized trophies".<ref>[http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/99/09/ditlea0999.asp "Rewriting the Bible in 0's and 1's"] in the [[Technology Review]] of the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]</ref>
year=|
*Version numbers of his [[TeX]] software approach the [[transcendental number]] [[pi|π]], that is versions increment in the style 3, 3.1, 3.14 and so on. Version numbers of [[Metafont]] approach the number [[E (mathematical constant)|''e'']] similarly.
accessdate=2007-09-25}}
*He once warned users of his software, ''"Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not tried it."''<ref name="FAQ">[http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/faq.html "Frequently Asked Questions" at Stanford site]. Gives the pronunciation of his name as "Ka-NOOTH".</ref>
</ref> from the [[Association for Computing Machinery|ACM]]<ref name="acm1">
*All appendices in the [[Computers and Typesetting]] series have titles that begin with the letter identifying the appendix.
{{cite web|url=http://www.acm.org/|
* TAOCP v3 (1973) has the index entry "Royalties, use of, 405". Page 405 has no explicit mention of royalties, but does contain a diagram of an "organ-pipe arrangement" in Figure 2. Apparently the purchase of the pipe organ in his home (see '''Personal''' below) was financed by royalties from TAOCP.<ref>[http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/organ.html "Pipe Organ" at Stanford site]</ref>
title=Association for Computing Machinery|
* From the Preface of ''Concrete Mathematics'': When DEK taught [[Concrete Mathematics]] at Stanford for the first time, he explained the somewhat strange title by saying that it was his attempt to teach a math course that was hard instead of soft. He announced that, contrary to the expectations of some of his colleagues, he was ''not'' going to teach the [[Theory of Aggregates]], nor [[Stone's Embedding Theorem]], nor even the [[Stone-Čech compactification]]. (Several students from the [[civil engineering]] department got up and quietly left the room.)
publisher=http://www.acm.org/|
*Knuth published his first "scientific" article in a school magazine in 1957 under the title "[[Potrzebie]] System of Weights and Measures." In it, he defined the [[fundamental unit]] of [[length]] as the thickness of [[MAD Magazine|''MAD'' magazine]] #26, and named the fundamental unit of [[force]] "whatmeworry". ''MAD'' magazine bought the article and published it in the June 1957 issue.
year=|
*Knuth's first "mathematical" article was a short paper submitted to a "science talent search" contest for high-school seniors in 1955, and published in 1960, in which he discussed number systems where the [[radix]] was negative. He further generalized this to number systems where the radix was a complex number. In particular, he defined the [[quater-imaginary base|quater-imaginary number system]], which uses the imaginary number 2i as the base, having the unusual feature that every complex number can be represented with the digits 0, 1, 2, and 3, without a sign.
accessdate=2007-09-25}}
*Knuth's article about [[computational complexity of songs]] was reprinted twice in [[computer science]]  journals.
</ref>.
# In 1974, Knuth received the [[Turing Award]]<ref name="AcmAwards" /> from the [[Association for Computing Machinery|ACM]].
# In 1979, Knuth won a [[National Medal of Science]]<ref name="ScienceMedal">
{{cite web|url=http://www.nsf.gov/od/nms/recip_details.cfm?recip_id=198|
title=National Medal of Science recipients|
publisher=http://www.nsf.gov/ (National Science Foundation)|
year=|
accessdate=2007-09-25}}
</ref>, given annually since 1959 as a Presidential Award to individuals deserving special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to knowledge.
# In 1992, Knuth became an associate<ref name="FrAcad">
{{cite web|url=http://www.academie-sciences.fr/membres/generalites_gb.htm|
title=French Academy of Sciences|
publisher=http://www.academie-sciences.fr/|
year=|
accessdate=2007-09-25}}
</ref> of the [[French Academy of Sciences]]<ref name="FrAKn">
{{cite web|url=http://www.academie-sciences.fr/membres/K/Knuth_Donald.htm|
title="Donald Knuth in French Academy of Sciences"|
publisher=http://www.stanford.edu/ (Stanford University)|
year=|
accessdate=2007-09-25}}
</ref>.
# In 1995, Knuth received the [[John von Neumann Medal]]<ref name="vNeumannMedal">
{{cite web|url=http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/about/awards/sums/vonneusum.html|
title=IEEE John von Neumann medal|
publisher=http://www.ieee.org/portal/site/iportals (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.)|
year=|
accessdate=2007-09-25}}
</ref> from the IEEE, which is given for outstanding achievements in computer-related science and technology.
# In 1996, Knuth was awarded the prestigious [[Kyoto Prize]]<ref name="KyotoPrize">
{{cite web|url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/news/stanfordtoday/ed/9609/9609smf201.shtml|
title=Donald Knuth wins Kyoto Prize|
publisher=http://www.stanford.edu/ (Stanford University)|
year=|
accessdate=2007-09-25}}
</ref>, Japan’s highest private award for lifetime achievement.
# In 2003, Knuth was elected a foreign member<ref name="RoySocFM">
{{cite web|url=http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/fellowsindex2.cfm|
title=List of Fellows and Foreign Members of The Royal Society|
publisher=http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/|
year=|
accessdate=2007-09-25}}
</ref> of Britain's [[The Royal Society]]<ref name="RoySoc">
{{cite web|url=http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/page.asp?id=1019|
title=The Royal Society|
publisher=http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/|
year=|
accessdate=2007-09-25}}
</ref>.


==Personal==
==Personal==
Knuth's hobbies include music, specifically playing the [[organ (music)|organ]]. He has a two-story high pipe organ installed in his home. Knuth disclaims any particular talent in the instrument.
Knuth is married to Jill Knuth<ref>
<ref>[http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/organ.html "Pipe Organ" at Stanford site]</ref>
[http://logic.pdmi.ras.ru/Slissenko60/Knuth.gif Early picture]</ref>, who published a book on [[liturgy]] titled ''Banner without Words'', published by Resource Publications in 1986. They have two children.  Knuth also loves to play the [[organ (music)|organ]] and has a two-story high pipe organ installed in his home<ref name="pipeorgan">
{{cite web|url=http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/organ.html
|title=The Pipe Organ of Don and Jill Knuth
|publisher=Donald Knuth on his home page at Stanford University
|accessdate=2007-09-25}}
</ref>.  He is a member of [[Theta Chi]] fraternity.


He does not use [[e-mail]], saying that he used it from about 1975 until [[January 1]] [[1990]], and that was enough for one lifetime. He finds it more efficient to respond to correspondence in "batch mode", such as one day every three months, to be sent by [[postal mail]].
In addition to his writings on computer science, Knuth is also the author of ''3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated'' (1991), ISBN 0-89579-252-4, in which he attempts to examine the Bible by a process of [[stratified sampling|stratified random sampling]], namely an analysis of chapter 3, verse 16 of each book. Each verse is accompanied by a rendering in calligraphic art, contributed by a group of calligraphers under the leadership of [[Hermann Zapf]].
 
He is married to Jill Knuth, who published a book on [[liturgy]] titled ''Banner without Words'', published by Resource Publications in 1986. They have two children.<ref>
[http://logic.pdmi.ras.ru/Slissenko60/Knuth.gif Early picture]</ref>
 
He is a member of [[Theta Chi]] fraternity.


==References==
==References==
<div class="references-small">
<references />[[Category:Suggestion Bot Tag]]
  <references/>
</div>

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Donald Ervin Knuth, born on January 10, 1938, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is an acclaimed computer scientist, mathematician, and professor emeritus at Stanford University. As the author of the widely-cited, multi-volume The Art of Computer Programming [1], Knuth contributed significantly to the analysis of algorithms. He is also known for having created the TeX typesetting system and of the METAFONT font design system, and pioneering the concept of literate programming. Professor Knuth has accumulated a number of honors and awards.

Academic achievements

In 1960, Knuth simultaneously earned a bachelor's degree and master's degree in mathematics from the Case Institute of Technology (now part of Case Western Reserve University). In 1963, he earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from the California Institute of Technology, where he became a professor and began work on The Art of Computer Programming, originally planned as a seven-volume series.

In 1968, he joined the faculty of Stanford University and published the first volume of The Art of Computer Programming. In 1976, after producing the third volume of The Art of Computer Programming, Knuth created the influential TeX and METAFONT tools as a result of his frustration with the electronic publishing tools used to provide input to photo-typesetters. In 1990, Stanford awarded Knuth the singular academic title of Professor of the Art of Computer Programming, which was revised to Professor Emeritus of the Art of Computer Programming upon his 1992 retirement from teaching at Stanford University. Knuth continued work on The Art of Computer Programming. By 2004, revised versions of the first three volumes had been re-issued, and Knuth continued working on volume four, excerpts of which are released periodically on his website.

Since 1990, Knuth has declined to use electronic mail, declaring it to be too inefficient and time-consuming. Instead, a secretary monitors an email account on his behalf. He corresponds in "batch mode", such as one day every three months, to be sent by postal mail.[2] In recent years, Knuth has given informal lectures a few times a year at Stanford University, which he calls Computer Musings. He is also a visiting professor at the Oxford University Computing Laboratory in the United Kingdom.

Honors and Awards

  1. In 1971, Knuth was the first recipient of the Grace Murray Hopper Award[3] from the ACM[4].
  2. In 1974, Knuth received the Turing Award[3] from the ACM.
  3. In 1979, Knuth won a National Medal of Science[5], given annually since 1959 as a Presidential Award to individuals deserving special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to knowledge.
  4. In 1992, Knuth became an associate[6] of the French Academy of Sciences[7].
  5. In 1995, Knuth received the John von Neumann Medal[8] from the IEEE, which is given for outstanding achievements in computer-related science and technology.
  6. In 1996, Knuth was awarded the prestigious Kyoto Prize[9], Japan’s highest private award for lifetime achievement.
  7. In 2003, Knuth was elected a foreign member[10] of Britain's The Royal Society[11].

Personal

Knuth is married to Jill Knuth[12], who published a book on liturgy titled Banner without Words, published by Resource Publications in 1986. They have two children. Knuth also loves to play the organ and has a two-story high pipe organ installed in his home[13]. He is a member of Theta Chi fraternity.

In addition to his writings on computer science, Knuth is also the author of 3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated (1991), ISBN 0-89579-252-4, in which he attempts to examine the Bible by a process of stratified random sampling, namely an analysis of chapter 3, verse 16 of each book. Each verse is accompanied by a rendering in calligraphic art, contributed by a group of calligraphers under the leadership of Hermann Zapf.

References

  1. ↑ Donald Knuth. "The Art of Computer Programming" (an overview of each volume). Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
  2. ↑ Donald Knuth. Email (let's drop the hyphen). Retrieved on 2007-09-30.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Awards given by the ACM. http://www.acm.org/ (Association for Computing Machinery). Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
  4. ↑ Association for Computing Machinery. http://www.acm.org/.+Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
  5. ↑ National Medal of Science recipients. http://www.nsf.gov/ (National Science Foundation). Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
  6. ↑ French Academy of Sciences. http://www.academie-sciences.fr/.+Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
  7. ↑ "Donald Knuth in French Academy of Sciences". http://www.stanford.edu/ (Stanford University). Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
  8. ↑ IEEE John von Neumann medal. http://www.ieee.org/portal/site/iportals (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.). Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
  9. ↑ Donald Knuth wins Kyoto Prize. http://www.stanford.edu/ (Stanford University). Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
  10. ↑ List of Fellows and Foreign Members of The Royal Society. http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/.+Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
  11. ↑ The Royal Society. http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/.+Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
  12. ↑ Early picture
  13. ↑ The Pipe Organ of Don and Jill Knuth. Donald Knuth on his home page at Stanford University. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
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