Jeannette Wing facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jeannette Wing
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| Born |
Jeannette Marie Wing
4 December 1956 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS, MS, PhD) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer science |
| Institutions | Columbia University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Southern California |
| Thesis | A Two-Tiered Approach to Specifying Programs (1983) |
| Doctoral advisor | John Guttag |
| Doctoral students | Greg Morrisett |
Jeannette Marie Wing is a top computer scientist. She is currently the Executive Vice President for Research at Columbia University. She is also a professor of computer science there.
Before her current role, she led the Data Science Institute at Columbia University. She also worked at Microsoft Research and was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. From 2007 to 2010, she helped lead the Computer and Information Science and Engineering section at the NSF.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Jeannette Wing was born on December 4, 1956. She studied Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in 1979. In 1983, she received her PhD in Computer Science from MIT. Her advisor was John Guttag.
Outside of her studies, Jeannette is also very skilled in martial arts. She holds a fourth-degree black belt in Tang Soo Do.
Her Career in Computer Science
Jeannette Wing taught at the University of Southern California from 1982 to 1985. After that, she joined the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University in 1985. She stayed there until 2012. During her time at Carnegie Mellon, she led the Computer Science Department twice.
In 2013, she took a break from Carnegie Mellon to work at Microsoft Research. There, she oversaw many research labs around the world. Later, she returned to university life at Columbia.
Important Research and Ideas
Jeannette Wing is a well-known expert in an area called formal methods. This field uses math to make sure computer programs work correctly and safely. She has led many research projects and written many important papers.
With another famous computer scientist, Barbara Liskov, she helped create the Liskov substitution principle. This is a key idea in computer programming. It helps programmers design flexible and reliable software. They published this principle in 1993.
Jeannette Wing has also strongly promoted an idea called computational thinking. This means thinking like a computer scientist. It involves solving problems using steps and breaking down complex ideas. She believes these skills can be used in many different subjects, not just computer science.
Awards and Recognition
In 2003, Jeannette Wing was named a Fellow of the IEEE. This is a special honor given to engineers who have made big contributions. She received this award for her work on methods for software systems.
