Nancy Lynch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nancy Lynch
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| Born | January 19, 1948 Brooklyn, New York City
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| Alma mater | Brooklyn College MIT |
| Known for | Distributed systems |
| Awards | ACM Fellow (1997) Dijkstra Prize (2001, 2007) Member, National Academy of Engineering (2001) Van Wijngaarden Award (2006) IEEE Emanuel R. Piore Award (2010) Member, National Academy of Sciences (2015) Knuth Prize (2007) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer science |
| Institutions | Tufts University University of Southern California Florida International University Georgia Tech MIT |
| Thesis | Relativization of the Theory of Computational Complexity (1972) |
| Doctoral advisor | Albert R. Meyer |
| Doctoral students | Cal Newport George Varghese |
Nancy Ann Lynch (born January 19, 1948) is a famous computer scientist from the United States. She works at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). At MIT, she is a professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department. She also leads a research team that studies "Theory of Distributed Systems."
Contents
Early Life and Schooling
Nancy Lynch was born in Brooklyn, a part of New York City. She loved math and studied it in college. She went to Brooklyn College and then to MIT. In 1972, she earned her Ph.D. from MIT. Her main teacher there was Albert R. Meyer.
What She Does
Before joining MIT in 1982, Nancy Lynch taught at other universities. These included Tufts University and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Since coming to MIT, she has focused on using math to understand and build complex distributed systems.
Understanding Distributed Systems
A distributed system is when many computers work together to solve a problem. Think of a big online game or a social media site. Many computers need to share information and make decisions together. Nancy Lynch's work helps make sure these systems work correctly. She studies how to make them reliable, even if some parts fail.
Important Discoveries
In 1985, Nancy Lynch worked with Michael J. Fischer and Mike Paterson. They studied a big problem called the "consensus problem." This problem is about how multiple computers can all agree on one decision. They discovered something very important: in a system where computers work at their own speed and can crash, it's impossible for them to always reach a perfect agreement if even one computer stops working. This discovery was very important for building strong computer systems. It helped engineers understand what their systems could and could not do.
Nancy Lynch has written many articles about her research. These articles are about how distributed computer programs work. She also writes about how to check if these systems are correct. She wrote a textbook called "Distributed Algorithms" for students.
Awards and Honors
Nancy Lynch has received many important awards for her work. These awards show how much her contributions have helped the world of computer science.
- 1997: She became an ACM Fellow. This is a special honor from the Association for Computing Machinery.
- 2001: She received the Dijkstra Paper Prize for her work on the consensus problem.
- 2001: She was chosen to be a member of the National Academy of Engineering. This is a very high honor for engineers in the U.S.
- 2006: She won the Van Wijngaarden Award.
- 2007: She received the Knuth Prize. This award is given to people who have made major contributions to the foundations of computer science.
- 2007: She won the Dijkstra Paper Prize again.
- 2010: She received the IEEE Emanuel R. Piore Award.
- 2015: She became a member of the National Academy of Sciences. This is another very high honor for scientists in the U.S.
See also
In Spanish: Nancy Lynch para niños
