David A. Huffman
| David A. Huffman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 9, 1925 Ohio |
| Died |
October 7, 1999 (aged 74) Santa Cruz, California |
| Residence | USA |
| Fields | Information theory, Coding theory |
| Alma mater | Ohio State University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Thesis | The Synthesis of Sequential Switching Circuits (1953) |
| Doctoral advisor | Samuel H. Caldwell |
| Known for | Huffman coding |
| Notable awards | IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal (1999) |
David Albert Huffman (August 9, 1925 – October 7, 1999) was a pioneer in computer science, known for his Huffman coding.[1][2] He was also one of the pioneers in the field of mathematical origami.[3] David Huffman died at the age of 74, ten months after being diagnosed with cancer.
Education
Huffman earned in 1944 his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Ohio State University, then served two years as an officer in the United States Navy. He returned to Ohio State to earn in 1949 his master's degree in electrical engineering. In 1953, he collected his Doctor of Science in electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with the thesis The Synthesis of Sequential Switching Circuits, advised by Samuel H. Caldwell.[1][2][4]
Career
Huffman joined the faculty at MIT in 1953. In 1967, he joined the faculty of University of California, Santa Cruz and helped found its Computer Science Department, where he served as chair from 1970 to 1973. He retired in 1994.[2]
Awards and honors
- 1999: The IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal.[5]
- 1998: A Golden Jubilee Award for Technological Innovation from the IEEE Information Theory Society, for "the invention of the Huffman minimum-length lossless data-compression code".[6]
- 1981: Charter recipient of the Computer Pioneer Award from the IEEE Computer Society.[7]
- 1973: The W. Wallace McDowell Award from the IEEE Computer Society.[8]
- 1955: The Louis E. Levy Medal from the Franklin Institute for his doctoral thesis on sequential switching circuits.[4][9]
References
- 1 2 Gary Stix (September 1991). "Profile: Information Theorist David A. Huffman". Scientific American. Vol. 265 no. 3 (Nature Publishing Group). pp. 54–58. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
- 1 2 3 Stephens, Tim; Burns, Jim (October 11, 1999). "Eminent UCSC computer scientist David Huffman dies at age 74". Currents Online. University of California, Santa Cruz. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
- ↑ Lang, Robert. "Origami Science Links".
- 1 2 David Albert Huffman at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
- ↑ "IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal Recipients" (PDF). IEEE. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ↑ "Golden Jubilee Awards for Technological Innovation". IEEE Information Theory Society. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- ↑ "Computer Pioneer Charter Recipients". IEEE Computer Society. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Past recipients for W. Wallace McDowell Award". IEEE Computer Society. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Franklin Laureate Database - Louis E. Levy Medal Laureates". Franklin Institute. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
External links
- Huffman, Ken (April 9, 2010). "My Uncle". Huffman Coding. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
- Haeberli, Paul (November 1996). "Geometric Paper Folding: Dr. David Huffman". GRAFICA Obscura. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
- Wertheim, Margaret (June 22, 2004). "Cones, Curves, Shells, Towers: He Made Paper Jump to Life". New York Times. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
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