Landon Curt Noll facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Landon Curt Noll
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Noll in 2007
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| Born | October 28, 1960 |
| Other names | chongo, Lord Ogden |
| Alma mater | California State University, East Bay and Linfield University |
| Known for | International Obfuscated C Code Contest Fowler Noll Vo hash Lavarand Prime number Vulcanoid asteroid Names of large numbers |
| Awards | USENIX Lifetime Achievement Award (contributor - 1993) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics and Cryptography and Astronomy |
| Institutions | Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Fremont Peak Observatory |
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Held or co-held 8 World records relating to large prime numbers. Common username: chongo
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Landon Curt Noll (born October 28, 1960) is an amazing American computer scientist and mathematician. He is famous for finding really big prime numbers. He even discovered one of these huge numbers while he was still in high school!
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Discovering Giant Prime Numbers
Landon Curt Noll was born in Walnut Creek, California, United States. When he was just 18 years old, he became the youngest person ever to find the largest known prime. This was a huge achievement! He has actually held or shared this record three different times.
What are Mersenne Primes?
Two of the record-breaking prime numbers Landon found are called Mersenne primes. These are special prime numbers that can be written in a specific mathematical way. Finding them often requires powerful computers. Landon helped discover the 25th and 26th Mersenne primes.
Other Big Number Discoveries
Landon also worked with another smart person, John Horton Conway. Together, they created a system for naming incredibly large powers of 10. Imagine numbers so big they need their own special names!
Fun with Computers
Landon Curt Noll has done many cool things with computers.
The Obfuscated C Code Contest
He helped start something called the International Obfuscated C Code Contest. In this contest, programmers try to write computer code that works perfectly but is super hard for humans to understand. It's like a puzzle for computer experts!
The Fowler Noll Vo Hash
Landon also helped create something called the Fowler Noll Vo hash function. A "hash function" is a special computer tool. It takes information and turns it into a short code. This code helps computers quickly find and check data.
Looking at the Stars
Besides computers and numbers, Landon Curt Noll is also an amateur astronomer. This means he loves to study space and the stars as a hobby.
Measuring the Solar Parallax
One of his astronomy projects involved measuring the Solar parallax. This is a way to figure out the distance from Earth to the Sun. He did this during a special event in 2004 called the Transit of Venus. A Transit of Venus is when the planet Venus passes directly in front of the Sun, as seen from Earth.
Searching for Vulcanoid Asteroids
He also searches for Vulcanoid asteroids. These are asteroids that might be orbiting the Sun even closer than the planet Mercury! Finding them is very difficult because they are so close to the Sun's bright light.
Helping His Community
Landon Curt Noll has also been involved in his local community. He served as a city council member in Sunnyvale, California. He even held the position of vice-mayor. This shows he cares about helping the people where he lives.
