Turing Award Winner Professor John Hopcroft Joins Beida
On May 16th, 2017, Peking University (PKU) held the appointment ceremony for Professor John E. Hopcroft, the IBM Professor of Engineering and Applied Mathematics in Computer Science at Cornell University and recipient of 1986 ACM A.M. Turing Award.
Professor Hopcroft becomes another world-top scientist in the Chinese artificial intelligence industry, and also a top scientific and technological personnel introduced to China after Nobel Prize winner, Chen-Ning Yang, and the only ethnic Chinese Turing Award winner, Andrew Chi-Chih Yao.
Wen Gao, Vice President of National Natural Science Foundation of China and Director of Faculty of Information and Engineering Sciences of PKU, addressed his welcome to Professor Hopcroft's joining nd chairing the Center on Frontiers of Computing Studies. He stated that the Faculty of Information and Engineering Sciences shall give full support to Professor Hopcroft's work in PKU.
Ru Huang, Dean of School of Electronics Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) of PKU, pointed out that it was a historic moment for PKU to have a Turing Award winner joining in, and it should be a good opportunity to raise the teaching and research level of computer science and related subjects in PKU and to introduce more high-end talents for EECS.
On behalf of PKU, President Jianhua Lin welcomed Professor Hopcroft. He reviewed the previous meetings with Professor Hopcroft and gave high credit to his devotion to teaching and passion for students. Lin hoped that Professor Hopcroft would help promote the on-going comprehensive reform and the development of PKU. Jianhua Lin issued the Appointment Letter of Visiting Professorship to Professor Hopcroft.
Professor Hopcroft said that he would offer his help in talents attracting, course teaching and related aspects through his experiences and logic.
Jianhua Lin issuing the Appointment Letter to Professor Hopcroft
Before the appointment ceremony, Professor Hopcroft gave a lecture entitled Future Directions in Computer Science Research.
Invited by the Faculty of Information and Engineering Sciences and EECS, PKU, Professor Hopcroft visited PKU from May 15 to 17th. In the upcoming summer, he is going to take part in the selection and interview of students, whom, if selected, will then study under the new cultivating system of Center on Frontiers of Computing Studies from the fall semester, 2017.
Background Information:
John E. Hopcroft (1939.10.07 - ), is the IBM Professor of Engineering and Applied Mathematics in Computer Science at Cornell University, recipient of 1986 ACM A.M. Turing Award, member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), United States. Hopcroft's research focus was on theoretical computer science, especially in the field of algorithms, automata theory, and graph algorithms. His works include The Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithm; Data Structures and Algorithms; Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation, etc.
M.S. of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, 1962
Ph.D. of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, 1964.
Assistant Professor of Department of Electrical Engineering, Princeton University, 1964 - 1967.
Dean of College of Engineering, Cornell University,1994 - 2001
Recipient of the A.M. Turing Award for fundamental achievements in the design and analysis of algorithms and data structures,1986
Member of National Science Board (NSB), 1992 - 1998
Recipient of IEEE Harry H. Goode Memorial Award, 2005
Recipient of Distinguished Service Award from Computing Research Association, 2007