Kathryn S. McKinley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kathryn S. McKinley
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Kathryn S. McKinley
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| Born | January 10, 1962 |
| Alma mater | Rice University |
| Known for | Locality & Parallelism Optimizations Hoard memory allocator |
| Awards | ACM Fellow (2008) IEEE Fellow (2011) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer Science |
| Institutions | Microsoft The University of Texas at Austin University of Massachusetts Amherst |
| Doctoral advisor | Ken Kennedy |
Kathryn S. McKinley is an American computer scientist. She is well-known for her research on how computers run programs, manage their memory, and are built. She also works to encourage more people to join the field of computing. From 2011 to 2014, McKinley helped lead a group called CRA-W, which supports women in computing research.
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Biography
Kathryn McKinley earned her first university degree, a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), in computer science and engineering from Rice University in 1985. She continued her studies at Rice University, getting a Master of Science (M.S.) in computer science in 1990. She then completed her highest degree, a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), also in computer science from Rice University, in 1992.
In 1993, she started working as an assistant professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She was promoted to associate professor there in 1999. In 2001, she moved to the University of Texas at Austin as an associate professor. She became a full professor in 2005 and an endowed professor in computer science in 2010. In 2011, she joined Microsoft Research as a Principal Researcher. Today, she is a Distinguished Software Engineer at Google.
McKinley is married to Scotty Strahan. They have three sons named Cooper, Dylan, and Wyatt Strahan.
Career Highlights
Kathryn McKinley and her team have made important contributions to computer science. Their work helps computers run programs faster and more efficiently.
Making Computers Faster
McKinley and her colleagues created a new way to organize how computers use memory. This helped make programs that handle large amounts of data, like those used in science, run much faster. Her early work with her advisor, Ken Kennedy, showed how to use this method to make programs run many tasks at once. This important work was recognized in 2014.
Hoard Memory Allocator
McKinley, along with her student Emery D. Berger, helped create the Hoard memory allocator. This is a special tool that helps computers manage their memory. It is used in many applications and even in Apple's OS X operating system. Hoard makes sure that when different parts of a program need memory, they don't slow each other down. It also helps prevent memory from becoming too messy or "fragmented."
DaCapo Java Benchmarks
McKinley was a leader of the DaCapo research group. This group developed special tests called "benchmarks" for Java programs. These benchmarks are widely used by researchers and companies to see how well Java programs perform. The DaCapo team also created new ways to evaluate how different parts of Java programs work. Their work helped show how different ways of managing memory in Java affect performance.
Immix Garbage Collector
Building on their research, McKinley and Stephen M. Blackburn designed a new type of "garbage collector" called Immix. A garbage collector is like a cleanup crew for a computer's memory. It finds and reuses memory that is no longer needed. The Immix collector helps programs run faster by organizing memory in a smarter way. This design leads to programs using less memory and running more smoothly.
In 2008, one of her Ph.D. students, Michael Bond, received a top award for his research.
On February 14, 2013, Kathryn McKinley spoke to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. She explained how computer research from universities, companies, and the government helps drive new ideas and economic growth in almost every field.
Awards and Recognition
Kathryn McKinley has received many awards for her important work in computer science.
In 2008, she was named an ACM Fellow. This means she is recognized as a leading expert in computing. In 2023, she was also elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which honors top thinkers and leaders.
Other notable awards include:
- ACM SIGPLAN Programming Languages Achievement Award in 2023, for her major contributions to compilers, parallel systems, and memory management.
- ACM SIGMETRICS Test of Time Award in 2014, for research that has had a lasting impact.
- IEEE Fellow in 2011, another high honor for experts in technology.
- ACM SIGPLAN Programming Languages Software Award in 2012, for her work on Jikes RVM.
- ACM SIGPLAN Distinguished Service Award in 2011, for her service to the computing community.
- ACM Distinguished Scientist in 2006.
See also
In Spanish: Kathryn S. McKinley para niños
