Leonard Adleman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Leonard Adleman
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Leonard Max Adleman
December 31, 1945 San Francisco, California, US
|
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley (BA, PhD) |
| Known for | RSA |
| Awards | Turing Award (2002) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer science Cryptography |
| Institutions | University of Southern California |
| Thesis | Number-Theoretic Aspects of Computational Complexity (1976) |
| Doctoral advisor | Manuel Blum |
Leonard Adleman (born December 31, 1945) is an American computer scientist. He is famous for helping create the RSA encryption algorithm. This algorithm helps keep information safe online. For his work, he received the Turing Award in 2002, which is like the Nobel Prize for computer science. Adleman also started the field of DNA computing, where computers use DNA to solve problems. He even came up with the name "computer virus" for harmful computer programs.
Contents
About Leonard Adleman
Leonard M. Adleman was born in California to a Jewish family. His family came to the United States from an area that is now Belarus. He grew up in San Francisco.
He went to the University of California, Berkeley. There, he earned his first degree in mathematics in 1968. Later, in 1976, he got his Ph.D. in computer science and electrical engineering.
Adleman also worked as a math expert for the movie Sneakers. In 1996, he became a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He is also part of the National Academy of Sciences.
Outside of his computer work, Adleman enjoys boxing. He has even sparred with famous boxer James Toney.
Amazing Discoveries in Computer Science
DNA Computing
In 1994, Leonard Adleman wrote an important paper. It showed how DNA could be used like a tiny computer. He used DNA to solve a small version of a tough math problem called the Hamiltonian Graph problem. This problem is similar to the travelling salesman problem, where you try to find the shortest route visiting many cities.
Even though solving a small version of this problem was easy, Adleman's paper was the first time anyone successfully used DNA to run a computer algorithm. People now think DNA computing could help solve many other big search problems. Because of this, Adleman is often called the "Father of DNA Computing."
In 2002, Adleman and his team solved an even harder problem using DNA. They solved a problem with 20 variables that had over a million possible answers. They did this by creating a mix of DNA strands that represented all possible solutions. Then, they used special chemical steps to remove the wrong DNA strands. Only the correct solutions were left. By looking at these remaining DNA strands, they found the right answers to the problem.
Other Important Work
Leonard Adleman also helped discover the Adleman–Pomerance–Rumely primality test. This test helps figure out if a very large number is a prime number.
In 1984, Fred Cohen wrote a paper about "computer viruses." He gave credit to Adleman for coming up with that term.
As of 2017, Adleman is a Computer Science professor at the University of Southern California. He is working on a mathematical idea called Strata.
Awards and Recognition
For his part in creating the RSA cryptosystem, Adleman received several awards. He shared the 1996 Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award with Ron Rivest and Adi Shamir.
In 2002, he also received the Turing Award with Rivest and Shamir. The Turing Award is often called the Nobel Prize of Computer Science.
Adleman was chosen as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2006. In 2021, he also became an ACM Fellow.
See also
In Spanish: Leonard Adleman para niños
- List of famous programmers
