John Hopcroft facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Edward Hopcroft
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Hopcroft in 2006 at ITMO University
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| Born | October 7, 1939 Seattle, Washington, U.S.
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| Education | Seattle University (BS) Stanford University (MS, PhD) |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer science |
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| Thesis | Synthesis of Threshold Logic Networks (1964) |
| Doctoral advisor | Richard Mattson |
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John Edward Hopcroft, born on October 7, 1939, is a famous American computer scientist. He wrote very important textbooks about how computers work and how they organize information. These books are still used today by students learning about computers. He is a retired professor at Cornell University and helps lead computer science centers in China.
Contents
Early Life and School
John Hopcroft grew up in the United States. He studied electrical engineering at Seattle University and earned his first degree in 1961. He then went to Stanford University, where he earned two more advanced degrees in electrical engineering in 1962 and 1964.
His grandfather, Jacob Nist, started a company called the Seattle-Tacoma Box Company way back in 1889.
His Amazing Career
After finishing his studies, John Hopcroft worked at Princeton University for three years. Since then, he has been a professor at Cornell University.
Famous Books and Algorithms
Besides his research, he is well-known for the books he wrote with Jeffrey Ullman and Alfred Aho. These books are considered classic guides for understanding algorithms (steps computers follow to solve problems) and formal languages (the special languages computers use).
He also helped create the Hopcroft–Karp algorithm. This is a special set of steps used to find "matchings" in certain types of graphs, which are like maps showing connections between things.
Awards and Honors
In 1986, John Hopcroft received the Turing Award. This is one of the highest honors in computer science, like a Nobel Prize for computing! He shared it with Robert Tarjan. They won for their important work on designing and analyzing algorithms and data structures.
In 1994, he became a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). This means he was recognized as a leading expert in computer science. In 2005, he received the Harry H. Goode Memorial Award for his key contributions to algorithms and how they are used in handling information.
In 2008, he received the Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award. This award recognized his big impact on computer science education. His textbooks still teach students many years later. He also guided many PhD students who became important computer scientists themselves.
In 1989, John Hopcroft was chosen as a member of the National Academy of Engineering. This was for his important work on computer algorithms and for writing excellent computer science textbooks.
In 1992, the President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, asked him to join the National Science Board. This board helps guide science and engineering research in the country.
Many universities around the world have honored him. He received special degrees from the University of Sydney in Australia (2005) and Saint Petersburg State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics in Russia (2009). In 2017, Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China opened a special center named after him: the John Hopcroft Center for Computer Science. In 2020, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen also opened a Hopcroft Institute for Advanced Information Sciences.
In 2010, he received the IEEE John von Neumann Medal with Jeffrey Ullman. This award was for their work in creating the basic ideas for how computers process information and understand languages.
Awards
- 1986. Turing Award
- 1989. National Academy of Engineering Member
- 1994. ACM Fellow
- 2005. Harry H. Goode Memorial Award
- 2008. Karl Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award
- 2010. IEEE John von Neumann Medal
- 2016. Friendship Award (China)
His Books
John Hopcroft has written several important books that are used to teach computer science.
- 2017. Foundations of Data Science (with Avrim Blum and Ravindran Kannan)
- 2001. Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation (with Rajeev Motwani and Jeffrey D. Ullman)
- 1983. Data Structures and Algorithms (with Alfred V. Aho and Jeffrey D. Ullman)
- 1974. The Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms (with Alfred V. Aho and Jeffrey D. Ullman)
- 1969. Formal Languages and Their Relation to Automata (with Jeffrey D. Ullman)
See also
In Spanish: John Hopcroft para niños
