Mike Paterson
Encyclopedia
Michael Stewart "Mike" Paterson, is the director of the Centre for Discrete Mathematics and its Applications in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Warwick
, and was chair of that department in 2005.
He received his doctorate from Cambridge University in 1967, under the supervision of David Park. He spent three years at MIT and moved to University of Warwick in 1971.
Paterson is a world expert on theoretical computer science
with more than 100 publications, especially the design and analysis of algorithm
s and computational complexity
. Paterson’s distinguished career was recognised with the EATCS Award in 2006 and a workshop in honour of his 66th birthday in 2008, including contributions of several Turing Award
and Gödel Prize
laureates. For his work on distributed computing
with Fischer
and Lynch
, he received the Dijkstra Prize
in 2001, and his work with Dyer and Goldberg on counting graph homomorphisms received a best paper award at the ICALP conference in 2006. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society since 2001 and been president of the European Association for Theoretical Computer Science (EATCS). According to EATCS president Maurice Nivat, Paterson played a great role in the late 1960s in the recognition of computer science as a science, “ and that theoretical computer science, which is very close to mathematics but distinct in its motivation and inspiration, is indeed a challenging and fruitful field of research.”
He is also an enthusiastic mountaineer
.
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
, and was chair of that department in 2005.
He received his doctorate from Cambridge University in 1967, under the supervision of David Park. He spent three years at MIT and moved to University of Warwick in 1971.
Paterson is a world expert on theoretical computer science
Theoretical computer science
Theoretical computer science is a division or subset of general computer science and mathematics which focuses on more abstract or mathematical aspects of computing....
with more than 100 publications, especially the design and analysis of algorithm
Algorithm
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 computational complexity
Computational Complexity
Computational Complexity may refer to:*Computational complexity theory*Computational Complexity...
. Paterson’s distinguished career was recognised with the EATCS Award in 2006 and a workshop in honour of his 66th birthday in 2008, including contributions of several Turing Award
Turing Award
The Turing Award, in full The ACM A.M. Turing Award, is an annual award given by the Association for Computing Machinery to "an individual selected for contributions of a technical nature made to the computing community. The contributions should be of lasting and major technical importance to the...
and Gödel Prize
Gödel Prize
The Gödel Prize is a prize for outstanding papers in theoretical computer science, named after Kurt Gödel and awarded jointly by the European Association for Theoretical Computer Science and the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory .The...
laureates. For his work on distributed computing
Distributed computing
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...
with Fischer
Michael J. Fischer
Michael John Fischer is a computer scientist who works in the fields of distributed computing, parallel computing, cryptography, algorithms and data structures, and computational complexity.-Career:...
and Lynch
Nancy Lynch
Nancy Ann Lynch is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is the NEC Professor of Software Science and Engineering in the EECS department and heads the Theory of Distributed Systems research group at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.She is the...
, he received the Dijkstra Prize
Dijkstra Prize
The Edsger W. Dijkstra Prize in Distributed Computing is given for outstanding papers on the principles of distributed computing, whose significance and impact on the theory and/or practice of distributed computing has been evident for at least a decade...
in 2001, and his work with Dyer and Goldberg on counting graph homomorphisms received a best paper award at the ICALP conference in 2006. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society since 2001 and been president of the European Association for Theoretical Computer Science (EATCS). According to EATCS president Maurice Nivat, Paterson played a great role in the late 1960s in the recognition of computer science as a science, “ and that theoretical computer science, which is very close to mathematics but distinct in its motivation and inspiration, is indeed a challenging and fruitful field of research.”
He is also an enthusiastic mountaineer
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
.