Roscoe Giles facts for kids

Roscoe C. Giles, III is an American scientist who works with both physics and computers. He used to be a leader at Boston University's Center for Computational Science. He is also a professor there, teaching about computers and electrical engineering. He also teaches physics.

Growing Up and Family

Roscoe C. Giles, III grew up in Chicago. He went to high school at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. His first time using a computer was with an old IBM 1620 machine at his school.

His grandfather, also named Roscoe Conkling Giles, was a very important person. He was the first Black person to get a degree from Cornell University Medical College.

His Journey in Science

Roscoe Giles earned his first degree in Physics from the University of Chicago in 1970. In 1975, he made history at Stanford University. He became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from that school. At Stanford, he worked with a famous scientist named Sidney Drell. They worked at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

After Stanford, he continued his research at SLAC and the MIT Center for Theoretical Physics. From 1979 to 1985, he was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Then, he joined Boston University as a professor. He became a full professor there in 1999.

What He Studies

Professor Giles is very interested in how computers work. He studies:

• Advanced computer designs
• How to make many computers work together on one problem (this is called parallel computing)
• Using computers to solve big science problems (computational science)

Other Important Work

In 2002, Roscoe Giles led a big meeting called the Supercomputing Conference. He was the first African American to be the chair of this important event. In 2004, he became the first professor to serve on Boston University's board of trustees. This board helps make big decisions for the university.

Roscoe Giles also started a group called the Institution of African American E-Culture. This group helps deal with the "digital divide". This means making sure that everyone, especially minority groups and poorer communities, has access to computers and the internet.

He also helped lead a group for the National Science Foundation. This group taught students and teachers how to use powerful computers. They learned to understand, model, and solve complex problems. Since 2010, he has been the leader of a special committee for the United States Department of Energy. This committee advises on advanced scientific computing.

Awards and Special Recognition

Roscoe Giles has received several important awards:

• In 2000, he won the A. Nico Habermann Award. This award is for people who help more underrepresented groups succeed in computer research.
• In 2004, he was named one of the "50 Most Important Blacks in Research Science" by the Career Communications Group.