Mark Wegman
Encyclopedia
Mark N. Wegman is an American computer scientist
known for his contributions to algorithms and compiler optimization
. Wegman received his B.A. from New York University
and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley
. He joined IBM Research
in 1975, where he currently serves as head of Computer Science. He is a member of the IBM Academy of Technology and a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery
(1996) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
. He became an IBM Fellow
in 2007. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2010.
Wegman is best known for being one of the inventors of the Static single assignment form
, which is used in the analysis portion of most if not all modern optimizing compilers
. This work was recognized by SIGPLAN
in 2006 with its Programming Languages Achievement Award. He has also made contributions to algorithms and information theory including universal hashing
and the LZMW data compression algorithm.
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....
known for his contributions to algorithms and compiler optimization
Compiler optimization
Compiler optimization is the process of tuning the output of a compiler to minimize or maximize some attributes of an executable computer program. The most common requirement is to minimize the time taken to execute a program; a less common one is to minimize the amount of memory occupied...
. Wegman received his B.A. from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. He joined IBM Research
IBM Research
IBM Research, a division of IBM, is a research and advanced development organization and currently consists of eight locations throughout the world and hundreds of projects....
in 1975, where he currently serves as head of Computer Science. He is a member of the IBM Academy of Technology 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...
(1996) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
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...
. He became an IBM Fellow
IBM Fellow
An IBM Fellow is an appointed position at IBM made by IBM’s CEO. Typically only 4 to 9 IBM Fellows are appointed each year, at the annual Corporate Technical Recognition Event in May or June. It is the highest honor a scientist, engineer, or programmer at IBM can achieve.The IBM Fellows program...
in 2007. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2010.
Wegman is best known for being one of the inventors of the Static single assignment form
Static single assignment form
In compiler design, static single assignment form is a property of an intermediate representation , which says that each variable is assigned exactly once...
, which is used in the analysis portion of most if not all modern optimizing compilers
Compiler optimization
Compiler optimization is the process of tuning the output of a compiler to minimize or maximize some attributes of an executable computer program. The most common requirement is to minimize the time taken to execute a program; a less common one is to minimize the amount of memory occupied...
. This work was recognized by 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...
in 2006 with its Programming Languages Achievement Award. He has also made contributions to algorithms and information theory including universal hashing
Universal hashing
Using universal hashing refers to selecting a hash function at random from a family of hash functions with a certain mathematical property . This guarantees a low number of collisions in expectation, even if the data is chosen by an adversary...
and the LZMW data compression algorithm.