Gordon Plotkin
Encyclopedia
Gordon D. Plotkin, FRS
, FRSE
(born 9 September 1946, in Glasgow) is a Scottish computer scientist
.
Gordon Plotkin is best-known for his introduction of structural operational semantics
(SOS) and his work on denotational semantics
. In particular, his notes on A Structural Approach to Operational Semantics of 1981 were very influential. He has contributed to many other areas of computer science
.
Plotkin is now Professor of Theoretical Computer Science in the School of Informatics
at The University of Edinburgh
.
in 1972 from the University of Edinburgh
, where he studied under Rod Burstall
. He has remained at Edinburgh, and was, with Burstall and Milner
, a co-founder of the Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science
(LFCS).
in 1992, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
and a Member of the Academia Europæa. He is also a winner of the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award
.
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, FRSE
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
(born 9 September 1946, in Glasgow) is a Scottish computer scientist
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
.
Gordon Plotkin is best-known for his introduction of structural operational semantics
Operational semantics
In computer science, operational semantics is a way to give meaning to computer programs in a mathematically rigorous way. Operational semantics are classified into two categories: structural operational semantics formally describe how the individual steps of a computation take place in a...
(SOS) and his work on denotational semantics
Denotational semantics
In computer science, denotational semantics is an approach to formalizing the meanings of programming languages by constructing mathematical objects which describe the meanings of expressions from the languages...
. In particular, his notes on A Structural Approach to Operational Semantics of 1981 were very influential. He has contributed to many other areas of computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
.
Plotkin is now Professor of Theoretical Computer Science in the School of Informatics
University of Edinburgh School of Informatics
The School of Informatics is an academic unit of the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland, responsible for research, teaching, outreach and commercialisation in Informatics....
at The University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
.
Biography
Plotkin received his PhDPHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1972 from the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, where he studied under Rod Burstall
Rod Burstall
Rodney Martineau Burstall is one of four founders of the Edinburgh Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science.He was an early and influential proponent of functional programming, pattern matching, and list comprehension, and is known for his work with Robin Popplestone on POP, an innovative...
. He has remained at Edinburgh, and was, with Burstall and Milner
Robin Milner
Arthur John Robin Gorell Milner FRS FRSE was a prominent British computer scientist.-Life, education and career:...
, a co-founder of the Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science
Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science
The Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science is based in the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. It has an international reputation in theoretical computer science, mathematical logic and category theory.- Current :...
(LFCS).
Works
- 1975: "Call-by-Name, Call-by Value and the Lambda Calculus".
- A Structural Approach to Operational Semantics by G.D. Plotkin (1981)
- Program Verification and Semantics: Further Work (2004)
Awards
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal SocietyRoyal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in 1992, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
and a Member of the Academia Europæa. He is also a winner of the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award
Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award
The Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award is an award to outstanding scientists holding posts at UK universities. It is administered by the Royal Society and jointly funded by the Wolfson Foundation and the UK Office of Science and Technology, this scheme aims to give universities additional...
.
See also
- Church-Rosser theorem
- Domain theoryDomain theoryDomain theory is a branch of mathematics that studies special kinds of partially ordered sets commonly called domains. Consequently, domain theory can be considered as a branch of order theory. The field has major applications in computer science, where it is used to specify denotational...
- Golem (ILP)Golem (ILP)Golem is an inductive logic programming algorithm developed by Stephen Muggleton and Feng. It uses the technique relative least general generalization proposed by Gordon Plotkin. Therefore, only positive examples are used and the search is bottom-up....
- InformaticsInformatics (academic field)Informatics is the science of information, the practice of information processing, and the engineering of information systems. Informatics studies the structure, algorithms, behavior, and interactions of natural and artificial systems that store, process, access and communicate information...
- LFCS
- Operational semanticsOperational semanticsIn computer science, operational semantics is a way to give meaning to computer programs in a mathematically rigorous way. Operational semantics are classified into two categories: structural operational semantics formally describe how the individual steps of a computation take place in a...
- Programming language for Computable FunctionsProgramming language for Computable FunctionsIn computer science, Programming Computable Functions,"PCF is a programming language for computable functions, based on LCF, Scott’s logic of computable functions" . Programming Computable Functions is used by . It is also referred to as Programming with Computable Functions or Programming language...
- Unbounded nondeterminismUnbounded nondeterminismIn computer science, unbounded nondeterminism or unbounded indeterminacy is a property of concurrency by which the amount of delay in servicing a request can become unbounded as a result of arbitration of contention for shared resources while still guaranteeing that the request will eventually be...
- University of EdinburghUniversity of EdinburghThe University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...