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Jack Dongarra

Jack-dongarra-2022.jpg
Dongarra in 2022
Born (1950-07-18) July 18, 1950 (age 74)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Alma mater
Known for EISPACK, LINPACK, BLAS, LAPACK, ScaLAPACK, Netlib, PVM, MPI, NetSolve, Top500, ATLAS, and PAPI
Awards
  • Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2023)
  • ACM Turing Award (2021)
  • IEEE Computer Pioneer Award (2020)
  • Foreign Member of the Royal Society (2019)
  • SIAM/ACM Prize in Computational Science and Engineering (2019)
  • ACM/IEEE Ken Kennedy Award (2013)
  • IEEE Charles Babbage Award (2011)
  • SIAM SIAG/Supercomputing Career Prize (2010)
  • SIAM Fellow (2009)
  • IEEE Medal of Excellence in Scalable Computing (2008)
  • IEEE Computer Society Sidney Fernbach Memorial Award (2003)
  • Member of the National Academy of Engineering (2001)
  • ACM Fellow (2001)
  • IEEE Fellow (1999)
  • Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1994)
Scientific career
Fields Computer Science
Computational science
Parallel computing
Institutions University of Tennessee
University of New Mexico
Rice University
Argonne National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
University of Manchester
Thesis Improving the Accuracy of Computed Matrix Eigenvalues (1980)
Doctoral advisor Cleve Moler

Jack Joseph Dongarra FRS (born July 18, 1950) is an American computer scientist and mathematician. He is a very important professor at the University of Tennessee. He also works at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Manchester. He helps teach at Rice University too. Jack Dongarra is known for leading the Innovative Computing Laboratory at the University of Tennessee. In 2021, he won the Turing Award, which is like the Nobel Prize for computer science.

Jack Dongarra's Education Journey

Jack Dongarra studied mathematics at Chicago State University, earning his first degree in 1972. After that, he got a master's degree in Computer Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1973. Later, in 1980, he earned his PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of New Mexico. His PhD advisor was a famous mathematician named Cleve Moler.

Research and Career in Computing

Before becoming a professor, Jack Dongarra worked at the Argonne National Laboratory until 1989. There, he became a senior scientist. He focuses on creating special math rules, called numerical algorithms, for computers. These rules help computers solve big problems very quickly and accurately.

Making Computers Work Faster

Jack Dongarra is an expert in parallel computing. This means he figures out how to make many computers work together at the same time. This helps solve huge problems that one computer alone would take too long to finish. His work includes making sure computer programs are well-made and easy to use.

Key Software for Supercomputers

He has helped create many important open-source software tools. These tools are like building blocks for scientists and engineers. Some of the most famous ones include:

  • EISPACK and LINPACK: These were early tools for solving problems with numbers and data.
  • Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms (BLAS) and Linear Algebra Package (LAPACK): These are widely used libraries that help computers do math operations very fast.
  • ScaLAPACK: This helps LAPACK work on many computers at once.
  • Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) and Message Passing Interface (MPI): These allow different computers to talk to each other and work together on a single task.
  • TOP500: This project lists the world's most powerful supercomputers. Jack Dongarra helped create it.

These software tools are used in many popular programs like MATLAB, Maple, Wolfram Mathematica, and SciPy. They help scientists and researchers around the world do amazing things with computers.

Sharing Knowledge and Software

With Eric Grosse, Jack Dongarra started Netlib. This was a new way to share open-source computer code through email and the internet. It made it much easier for people to get and use powerful math software. He has written hundreds of articles and several books about his work. He also works with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Manchester.

Awards and Special Honors

Jack Dongarra has received many important awards for his work.

Major Recognitions

  • In 2004, he won the IEEE Sid Fernbach Award for using supercomputers in new ways.
  • In 2008, he received the first IEEE Medal of Excellence in Scalable Computing.
  • In 2013, he won the ACM/IEEE Ken Kennedy Award. This was for leading the creation of standards for math software used in high-performance computing.
  • In 2020, he received the IEEE Computer Pioneer Award for his leadership in high-performance math software.

Prestigious Memberships

Jack Dongarra is a Fellow of many important groups, including:

He is also a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society. In 2001, he joined the US National Academy of Engineering. In 2023, he was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences for his work in high-performance computing.

The Turing Award

In 2021, Jack Dongarra received the Turing Award. This award is one of the highest honors in computer science. He won it for his amazing work on numerical algorithms and software libraries. These tools have helped computer hardware get faster for over forty years. His algorithms and software have made high-performance computing grow. They have also had a big impact on many areas of computational science, from artificial intelligence to computer graphics.

See also

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