Kevin Karplus
Encyclopedia
Kevin Karplus is a professor at University of California, Santa Cruz
, currently in the Biomolecular Engineering Department.
He is probably best known for work he did as a computer science graduate student at Stanford University
on the Karplus-Strong string synthesis
algorithm.
He taught VLSI design and computer engineering for several years, helping create the Computer Engineering Department at University of California, Santa Cruz
. He made some contributions to VLSI CAD, particularly to logic minimization, where he invented the if-then-else DAG (a generalization of the binary decision diagram
) and a canonical form for it, before switching to protein structure prediction
and bioinformatics
in 1995.
He has participated in CASP
(Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction) since CASP2 in 1996, and has been invited to present papers at CASP2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.
He served on the Board of Directors for the International Society for Computational Biology January 2005—Jan 2011.
Karplus has long been a bicycle advocate. In 1994, the League of American Bicyclists
gave him the Phyllis W. Harmon Volunteer-of-the-Year Award.
In 2001, he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission for long standing commitment to improving bicycle transportation in Santa Cruz County.
He was also one of the founding members of People Power, a bicycle advocacy group in Santa Cruz.
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
, currently in the Biomolecular Engineering Department.
He is probably best known for work he did as a computer science graduate student at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
on the Karplus-Strong string synthesis
Karplus-Strong string synthesis
Karplus-Strong string synthesis is a method of physical modelling synthesis that loops a short waveform through a filtered delay line to simulate the sound of a hammered or plucked string or some types of percussion....
algorithm.
He taught VLSI design and computer engineering for several years, helping create the Computer Engineering Department at University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
. He made some contributions to VLSI CAD, particularly to logic minimization, where he invented the if-then-else DAG (a generalization of the binary decision diagram
Binary decision diagram
In the field of computer science, a binary decision diagram or branching program, like a negation normal form or a propositional directed acyclic graph , is a data structure that is used to represent a Boolean function. On a more abstract level, BDDs can be considered as a compressed...
) and a canonical form for it, before switching to protein structure prediction
Protein structure prediction
Protein structure prediction is the prediction of the three-dimensional structure of a protein from its amino acid sequence — that is, the prediction of its secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structure from its primary structure. Structure prediction is fundamentally different from the inverse...
and bioinformatics
Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is the application of computer science and information technology to the field of biology and medicine. Bioinformatics deals with algorithms, databases and information systems, web technologies, artificial intelligence and soft computing, information and computation theory, software...
in 1995.
He has participated in CASP
CASP
CASP, which stands for Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction, is a community-wide, worldwide experiment for protein structure prediction taking place every two years since 1994...
(Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction) since CASP2 in 1996, and has been invited to present papers at CASP2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.
He served on the Board of Directors for the International Society for Computational Biology January 2005—Jan 2011.
Karplus has long been a bicycle advocate. In 1994, the League of American Bicyclists
League of American Bicyclists
The League of American Bicyclists is a non-profit membership organization which promotes cycling for fun, fitness and transportation through advocacy and education....
gave him the Phyllis W. Harmon Volunteer-of-the-Year Award.
In 2001, he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission for long standing commitment to improving bicycle transportation in Santa Cruz County.
He was also one of the founding members of People Power, a bicycle advocacy group in Santa Cruz.