John R. Rice (professor)
Encyclopedia
John Richard Rice is an American mathematician
and computer scientist
, the W. Brooks Fortune Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Computer Science and a professor of mathematics (by courtesy) at Purdue University
. He was the founder of the ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software
and is the author of more than 20 books and approximately 300 research articles.
and grew up in small towns in Oklahoma. As a teenager, his father was assigned to Addis Ababa
, Ethiopia
, where he lived for three years. He earned bachelors and masters degrees in mathematics from Oklahoma State University in 1954 and 1956; while studying there, he spent his summers in southern California, working in the aerospace industry. He then moved to the California Institute of Technology
, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1959 under the supervision of Arthur Erdélyi
; his dissertation concerned approximation theory
. After taking a one-year postdoctoral position at the National Bureau of Standards, he became a researcher for General Motors
. In 1964 he left GM and joined the recently-founded computer science department at Purdue, which he later headed from 1983 to 1996
Rice founded the ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software
in 1975, and was its editor-in-chief until 1993. He was chair of the Computing Research Association
from 1991 to 1993.
, he spent most of his career working in the analysis of algorithms
for solving numerical problems, and particularly on the solution of elliptic partial differential equations.
s and data structure
s rather than specific programming language
s, the focus of previous introductory CS texts. It was translated into three other languages.
Rice's other books include:
for his "establishing and seminal contributions to the field of mathematical software". He is also a Fellow of the AAAS
and a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery
.
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and 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....
, the W. Brooks Fortune Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Computer Science and a professor of mathematics (by courtesy) at Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
. He was the founder of the ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software
ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software
ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software is a quarterly scientific journal that aims to disseminate the latest findings of note in the field of numeric, symbolic, algebraic, and geometric computing applications...
and is the author of more than 20 books and approximately 300 research articles.
Biography
Rice was born on June 6, 1934 in Tulsa, OklahomaTulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
and grew up in small towns in Oklahoma. As a teenager, his father was assigned to Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, where he lived for three years. He earned bachelors and masters degrees in mathematics from Oklahoma State University in 1954 and 1956; while studying there, he spent his summers in southern California, working in the aerospace industry. He then moved to the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1959 under the supervision of Arthur Erdélyi
Arthur Erdélyi
Arthur Erdélyi FRS, FRSE was a Hungarian-born British mathematician. Erdélyi was a leading expert on special functions - especially orthogonal polynomials and hypergeometric functions.-Biography:...
; his dissertation concerned approximation theory
Approximation theory
In mathematics, approximation theory is concerned with how functions can best be approximated with simpler functions, and with quantitatively characterizing the errors introduced thereby...
. After taking a one-year postdoctoral position at the National Bureau of Standards, he became a researcher for General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
. In 1964 he left GM and joined the recently-founded computer science department at Purdue, which he later headed from 1983 to 1996
Rice founded the ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software
ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software
ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software is a quarterly scientific journal that aims to disseminate the latest findings of note in the field of numeric, symbolic, algebraic, and geometric computing applications...
in 1975, and was its editor-in-chief until 1993. He was chair of the Computing Research Association
Computing Research Association
The Computing Research Association is an association of more than 220 North American academic departments of computer science, computer engineering, and related fields; laboratories and centers in industry, government, and academia engaging in basic computing research; and affiliated professional...
from 1991 to 1993.
Research
Rice showed an early interest in computing, publishing a paper titled "Electronic Brains" as a college sophomore. Although his early research was on the mathematics of approximation theoryApproximation theory
In mathematics, approximation theory is concerned with how functions can best be approximated with simpler functions, and with quantitatively characterizing the errors introduced thereby...
, he spent most of his career working in the analysis of algorithms
Analysis of algorithms
To analyze an algorithm is to determine the amount of resources necessary to execute it. Most algorithms are designed to work with inputs of arbitrary length...
for solving numerical problems, and particularly on the solution of elliptic partial differential equations.
Books
Rice's Introduction to Computer Science (with J. K. Rice, published by Holt, Rinehart, and Winston in 1969) was the "leading textbook of the day" and emphasized general principles of algorithmAlgorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...
s and data structure
Data structure
In computer science, a data structure is a particular way of storing and organizing data in a computer so that it can be used efficiently.Different kinds of data structures are suited to different kinds of applications, and some are highly specialized to specific tasks...
s rather than specific programming language
Programming language
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
s, the focus of previous introductory CS texts. It was translated into three other languages.
Rice's other books include:
- Solving Elliptic Problems with ELLPACK (Springer-Verlag, 1985)
- Mathematical Aspects of Scientific Software (Springer-Verlag, 1988)
- Expert Systems for Scientific Computing (North Holland, 1992)
- Enabling Technologies for Computational Science (Kluwer, 2000)
Awards and honors
Rice was named the Brooks Fortune Professor in 1989. In 1994, he was elected to the National Academy of EngineeringNational Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
for his "establishing and seminal contributions to the field of mathematical software". He is also a Fellow of the AAAS
Fellow of the AAAS
Fellow of the AAAS is an honor accorded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science to distinguished persons who are members of the Association. Fellows are elected annually by the AAAS Council for "efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications [which] are...
and a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery
Association for Computing Machinery
The Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
.
External links
- Home page at Purdue