Ken Kennedy (computer scientist)
Encyclopedia
Ken Kennedy was an American
computer scientist
and professor
at Rice University
. He was the founding chairman of Rice's Computer Science Department.
Kennedy directed the construction of several substantial software systems for programming parallel
computer
s, including an automatic vectorizer for Fortran 77, an integrated scientific programming environment, compiler
s for Fortran 90 and High Performance Fortran
, and a compilation system for domain languages based on the numerical computing environment MATLAB
.
He wrote over 200 articles and book chapters, plus numerous conference addresses. Kennedy was elected to the National Academy of Engineering
in 1990. He was named a Fellow of the AAAS
in 1994 and of the ACM
and IEEE in 1995. In recognition of his achievements in compilation for high performance computer systems, he was honored as the recipient of the 1995 W. W. McDowell Award
, the highest research award of the IEEE Computer Society
. In 1999, he was named recipient of the ACM SIGPLAN
Programming Languages Achievement Award, the third time this award was given. In 2005, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
.
He died of pancreatic cancer
in Houston at the age of 61. At the time of his death he was the John and Ann Doerr
University Professor in the department of Computer Science
at Rice
. As of November 20, 2006 he had directed the PhD dissertations of 38 graduate students, and masters theses for 8 others.
Kennedy's last publication was The rise and fall of High Performance Fortran: an historical object lesson, in which Kennedy discussed the general failure of the High Performance Fortran
language which he had championed.
On November 18, 2009, the ACM
and
IEEE
awarded the first Ken Kennedy CS Award
to Francine Berman of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
.
The award was given at the ACM IEEE Supercomputing (or, "SC") '09 conference.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
computer scientist
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...
and professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
. He was the founding chairman of Rice's Computer Science Department.
Kennedy directed the construction of several substantial software systems for programming parallel
Parallel computing
Parallel computing is a form of computation in which many calculations are carried out simultaneously, operating on the principle that large problems can often be divided into smaller ones, which are then solved concurrently . There are several different forms of parallel computing: bit-level,...
computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s, including an automatic vectorizer for Fortran 77, an integrated scientific programming environment, compiler
Compiler
A compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language into another computer language...
s for Fortran 90 and High Performance Fortran
High Performance Fortran
High Performance Fortran is an extension of Fortran 90 with constructs that support parallel computing, published by the High Performance Fortran Forum . The HPFF was convened and chaired by Ken Kennedy of Rice University...
, and a compilation system for domain languages based on the numerical computing environment MATLAB
MATLAB
MATLAB is a numerical computing environment and fourth-generation programming language. Developed by MathWorks, MATLAB allows matrix manipulations, plotting of functions and data, implementation of algorithms, creation of user interfaces, and interfacing with programs written in other languages,...
.
He wrote over 200 articles and book chapters, plus numerous conference addresses. Kennedy was elected to the National Academy of Engineering
National 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...
in 1990. He was named a Fellow of the AAAS
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
in 1994 and of the ACM
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...
and IEEE in 1995. In recognition of his achievements in compilation for high performance computer systems, he was honored as the recipient of the 1995 W. W. McDowell Award
McDowell Award
The W. Wallace McDowell Award is awarded by the IEEE Computer Society for outstanding recent theoretical, design, educational, practical, or other similar innovative contributions that fall within the scope of Computer Society interest...
, the highest research award of the IEEE Computer Society
IEEE Computer Society
The IEEE Computer Society is a professional society of IEEE. Its purpose and scope is “to advance the theory, practice, and application of computer and information processing science and technology” and the “professional standing of its members.” The CS is the largest of 38 technical societies...
. In 1999, he was named recipient of the ACM SIGPLAN
SIGPLAN
SIGPLAN is the Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on programming languages.- Conferences :* Principles of Programming Languages * Programming Language Design and Implementation...
Programming Languages Achievement Award, the third time this award was given. In 2005, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
.
He died of pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
in Houston at the age of 61. At the time of his death he was the John and Ann Doerr
John Doerr
L. John Doerr is an American venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in Menlo Park, California, in Silicon Valley. In February 2009, Doerr was appointed as a member of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board to provide the president and his administration with advice and...
University Professor in the department 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...
at Rice
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
. As of November 20, 2006 he had directed the PhD dissertations of 38 graduate students, and masters theses for 8 others.
Kennedy's last publication was The rise and fall of High Performance Fortran: an historical object lesson, in which Kennedy discussed the general failure of the High Performance Fortran
High Performance Fortran
High Performance Fortran is an extension of Fortran 90 with constructs that support parallel computing, published by the High Performance Fortran Forum . The HPFF was convened and chaired by Ken Kennedy of Rice University...
language which he had championed.
On November 18, 2009, the ACM
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...
and
IEEE
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a non-profit professional association headquartered in New York City that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence...
awarded the first Ken Kennedy CS Award
Ken Kennedy Award
The Ken Kennedy Award, established in 2009 by the Association of Computing Machinery and the IEEE Computer Society in memory of Ken Kennedy, is awarded annually and recognizes substantial contributions to programmability and productivity in computing and substantial community service or mentoring...
to Francine Berman of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
.
The award was given at the ACM IEEE Supercomputing (or, "SC") '09 conference.
External links
- Ken Kennedy's homepage – at Rice University's Computer Science Department
- List of McDowell Award recipients