Sheila Greibach facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sheila Greibach
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| Born | October 6, 1939 |
| Alma mater | Radcliffe College Harvard University |
| Known for | Greibach normal form, Greibach's theorem |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Theoretical Computer Science Formal language in Computing Automata Computational Complexity Compiler Theory |
| Institutions | University of California, Los Angeles Harvard University |
| Doctoral advisor | Anthony Oettinger |
| Doctoral students | Ronald V. Book, Michael J. Fischer, Jean Gallier |
Sheila Adele Greibach was born on October 6, 1939, in New York City. She is an American scientist who studies how computers understand and process information. Her work focuses on areas like formal languages, which are special rules for computer programs. She also studies automata, which are like simple machines that follow these rules.
Sheila Greibach is an Emeritus Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Los Angeles. This means she is a retired professor who still has a connection to the university. She is well-known for her work on Greibach normal form. This is a special way to write down rules for computer languages. She also explored how pushdown automata work. These are like simple computers that use a special memory stack.
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Early Life and Education
Sheila Greibach was a very bright student. In 1960, she earned her first degree from Radcliffe College. She studied Linguistics, which is the study of language, and Applied Mathematics. She graduated with top honors.
Two years later, she earned her master's degree. In 1963, she received her PhD from Harvard University. Her main advisor was Anthony Oettinger. Her PhD research was about how computer languages are put together.
After finishing her PhD, she continued working at Harvard. She stayed there until 1969. Then, she moved to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She has been a professor at UCLA since then. Her research interests include how computers solve problems and how they understand different languages.
Key Contributions to Computer Science
Sheila Greibach has taught and mentored many students. Some of her notable students include Ronald V. Book and Michael J. Fischer. Her research has greatly influenced the field of theoretical computer science.
Understanding Computer Languages
One of her most important contributions is the Greibach normal form. She developed this in 1965. It provides a standard way to write down the rules for context-free grammars. These grammars are used to describe many programming languages.
She also studied W-grammars, which are complex sets of rules. Her work helped us understand how these rules affect computer languages. She also looked into decidability problems. These problems ask if it's possible for a computer to always find an answer to a certain question.
Working with Stack Automata
Sheila Greibach worked with other famous scientists like Seymour Ginsburg and Michael A. Harrison. They explored stack automatons. These are special computer models that help understand how compilers work. Compilers are programs that translate code written by humans into code computers can understand.
Their research showed how these stack automata could help in the process of "parsing." Parsing is when a computer breaks down a sentence or a piece of code to understand its structure. This work was very important for making better compilers.
Research on Turing Machines
Greibach also researched Turing machines with Ronald V. Book and Ben Wegbreit. Turing machines are theoretical models of computers. They studied how much time and memory these machines need to solve problems. This research helps us understand the limits of what computers can do.
See also
- Greibach normal form
- Abstract family of acceptors
- Greibach's theorem
