Butler Lampson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Butler Lampson
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Lampson in 2018
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| Born | December 23, 1943 Washington, D.C.
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| Alma mater | Harvard University (AB) University of California, Berkeley (PhD) |
| Known for | SDS 940, Xerox Alto |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer science |
| Institutions | University of California, Berkeley Xerox PARC Digital Equipment Corporation Microsoft Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Thesis | Scheduling and Protection in an Interactive Multi-Processor System (1967) |
| Doctoral advisor | Harry Huskey |
Butler W. Lampson (born December 23, 1943) is an American computer scientist. He is famous for helping to create and improve personal computing and distributed computing systems. These are systems where many computers work together.
Contents
Education and Early Life
Butler Lampson went to the Lawrenceville School. In 2009, he received their highest award for alumni. He then studied physics at Harvard University, graduating with high honors in 1964. He earned his PhD in electrical engineering and computer science in 1967. This degree was from the University of California, Berkeley.
Career and Amazing Inventions
In the 1960s, Lampson was part of a project called Project Genie at UC Berkeley. In 1965, he and Peter Deutsch helped create the Berkeley Timesharing System. This system allowed many people to use one powerful computer at the same time. After getting his PhD, Lampson taught computer science at UC Berkeley.
The First Personal Computer
In 1971, Lampson became a founder of Xerox PARC. This was a famous research center. He had a big idea for a "personal computer." This idea was written down in a memo called "Why Alto?" in 1972.
In 1973, the Xerox Alto was created. It had a three-button computer mouse and a large screen. Many people consider the Alto to be the first real personal computer. It showed how computers could work with a graphical user interface (GUI). A GUI uses pictures and icons you can click, instead of just text commands.
Lampson also helped design a plan called "Wildflower." This plan guided how many other computers at Xerox PARC were built. These included the D-Series Machines like the "Dandelion" and "Daybreak."
Other Cool Technologies
At Xerox PARC, Lampson worked on many other groundbreaking technologies. He helped with the design of laser printers. These printers use lasers to create high-quality images and text. He also worked on Bravo, which was the first WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) program. This meant you could see on the screen exactly how your document would look when printed.
He also helped develop Ethernet. Ethernet was one of the first high-speed local area networks (LANs). It allowed computers in the same building to connect and share information. He also designed important programming languages like Euclid.
Later Career
After leaving Xerox PARC, Lampson worked at Digital Equipment Corporation's Systems Research Center. Later, in 1995, he joined Microsoft Research. He worked there as a top engineer and technical fellow. Since 1987, he has also been a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Honors and Awards
Butler Lampson has received many important awards for his work:
- In 1984, he became a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
- In 1992, he won the famous Turing Award. This award is like the Nobel Prize for computer science. He won it for his work on personal computing.
- In 2001, he received the IEEE John von Neumann Medal.
- In 2004, he won the Charles Stark Draper Prize. This award is for great achievements in engineering. He shared it for his work on the Xerox Alto.
- In 2005, he was chosen as a Member of the National Academy of Sciences.
- In 2006, he was inducted into the Computer History Museum Hall of Fame. This was for his contributions to computer science, including networked personal computers and operating systems.
- In 2018, he was elected as a Foreign Member of the Royal Society. This is a very old and respected scientific group in the United Kingdom.
Quotes
Butler Lampson is often linked to the saying, "Any problem in computer science can be solved with another level of indirection." This means that sometimes, adding an extra step or layer can help solve a complex problem. However, Lampson himself has said that David Wheeler actually came up with this quote.
See also
In Spanish: Butler Lampson para niños
