Philippa Gardner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Philippa Anne Gardner
FREng FBCS
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| Born | July 29, 1965 |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater |
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| Awards | BCS Lovelace Medal (2024) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields |
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| Institutions | Imperial College |
| Thesis | Representing Logics in Type Theory (1992) |
| Doctoral advisor | Gordon Plotkin |
Philippa Anne Gardner, born on July 29, 1965, is a smart British computer scientist. She teaches about computers at Imperial College London. Since 2009, she has been a Professor of Theoretical Computer Science there. This means she studies the basic ideas behind how computers work. She also led a special research group for a few years. In 2020, she became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. This is a big honor for engineers.
Early Life and Education
Philippa Gardner grew up in Exeter, England. She loved learning about how things work. In 1988, she earned a master's degree from Bristol University. She studied something called 'logic and computation.' This is about how computers think and solve problems.
Later, she went to the University of Edinburgh. She earned her PhD in 1992. Her big research project was about 'Representing Logics in Type Theory.' It sounds complicated, but it's about making computer programs more reliable.
Career in Computer Science
After finishing her studies, Philippa Gardner worked at Cambridge University. She then had a special research job with The Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 2001, she started teaching at Imperial College London. By 2009, she became a Professor there.
From 2013 to 2016, she led a research group. This group focused on checking computer programs. They made sure programs worked correctly and safely. This work was supported by organizations like GCHQ.
Professor Gardner has won awards for her teaching. In 2013, she received an award for excellent teaching. In 2019, she won another award for guiding students in their research.
Current Research: Making Programs Safe
Today, Professor Gardner's research focuses on 'program verification.' This means she finds ways to prove that computer programs do exactly what they are supposed to do. This is very important for things like banking apps or self-driving cars.
One of her main projects is building something called Gillian. Gillian is a special tool. It helps computer scientists develop ways to analyze programs. This makes sure the programs are strong and don't have mistakes.
