Oren Patashnik
Encyclopedia
Oren Patashnik is a computer scientist. He is notable for co-creating BibTeX
, and co-writing Concrete Mathematics: A Foundation for Computer Science
. He is a researcher at the Center for Communications Research, La Jolla
.
in 1976, and later became a doctoral student in computer science at Stanford University
, where his research was supervised by Donald Knuth
.
While working at Bell Labs
in 1980, Patashnik proved that Qubic
can always be won by the first player. Using 1500 hours of computer time, Patashnik's proof is a notable example of a computer-assisted proof
.
In 1985, Patashnik created the bibliography-system, BibTeX
, in collaboration with Leslie Lamport
, the creator of LaTeX
. LaTeX is a system and programming language
for formatting documents, which is especially designed for mathematical documents. BibTeX is a widely used bibliography-formatting tool for LaTeX
.
In 1988, Patashnik assisted Ronald Graham
and Donald Knuth
in writing Concrete Mathematics: A Foundation for Computer Science
http://www.cs.fsu.edu/~mascagni/cot_5507.html, an important mathematical publication and college textbook.
In 1990, he got his doctorate in computer science. His thesis paper was about "Optimal Circuit Segmentation for Pseudo-Exhaustive Testing" http://www.castu.tsinghua.edu.cn/yao/students.htm.
After the 2003 Cedar Fire
destroyed 60% of the houses in his immediate neighborhood, his statistical study showed that houses with a wood-shake shingle roof did very badly, but surprisingly, so did houses with a Spanish-style, curved-red-tile roof.
BibTeX
BibTeX is reference management software for formatting lists of references. The BibTeX tool is typically used together with the LaTeX document preparation system...
, and co-writing Concrete Mathematics: A Foundation for Computer Science
Concrete Mathematics
Concrete Mathematics: A Foundation for Computer Science, by Ronald Graham, Donald Knuth, and Oren Patashnik, is a mathematical textbook that is widely used in computer-science departments. It provides mathematical knowledge and skills for computer science, especially for the analysis of algorithms...
. He is a researcher at the Center for Communications Research, La Jolla
Institute for Defense Analyses
The Institute for Defense Analyses is a non-profit corporation that administers three federally funded research and development centers to assist the United States government in addressing important national security issues, particularly those requiring scientific and technical expertise...
.
History
Oren Patashnik graduated from Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1976, and later became a doctoral student in computer science 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...
, where his research was supervised by Donald Knuth
Donald Knuth
Donald Ervin Knuth is a computer scientist and Professor Emeritus at Stanford University.He is the author of the seminal multi-volume work The Art of Computer Programming. Knuth has been called the "father" of the analysis of algorithms...
.
While working at Bell Labs
Bell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
in 1980, Patashnik proved that Qubic
Qubic
Qubic is the brand name of a four-in-a-row game played in a 4×4×4 matrix sold by Parker Brothers starting in 1953. The original box, and the 1972 reissue, described the game as "Parker Brothers 3D Tic Tac Toe Game." Players take turn placing pieces to get four in a row horizontally or...
can always be won by the first player. Using 1500 hours of computer time, Patashnik's proof is a notable example of a computer-assisted proof
Computer-assisted proof
A computer-assisted proof is a mathematical proof that has been at least partially generated by computer.Most computer-aided proofs to date have been implementations of large proofs-by-exhaustion of a mathematical theorem. The idea is to use a computer program to perform lengthy computations, and...
.
In 1985, Patashnik created the bibliography-system, BibTeX
BibTeX
BibTeX is reference management software for formatting lists of references. The BibTeX tool is typically used together with the LaTeX document preparation system...
, in collaboration with Leslie Lamport
Leslie Lamport
Leslie Lamport is an American computer scientist. A graduate of the Bronx High School of Science, he received a B.S. in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1960, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in mathematics from Brandeis University, respectively in 1963 and 1972...
, the creator of LaTeX
LaTeX
LaTeX is a document markup language and document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. Within the typesetting system, its name is styled as . The term LaTeX refers only to the language in which documents are written, not to the editor used to write those documents. In order to...
. LaTeX is a system and 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....
for formatting documents, which is especially designed for mathematical documents. BibTeX is a widely used bibliography-formatting tool for LaTeX
LaTeX
LaTeX is a document markup language and document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. Within the typesetting system, its name is styled as . The term LaTeX refers only to the language in which documents are written, not to the editor used to write those documents. In order to...
.
In 1988, Patashnik assisted Ronald Graham
Ronald Graham
Ronald Lewis Graham is a mathematician credited by the American Mathematical Society as being "one of the principal architects of the rapid development worldwide of discrete mathematics in recent years"...
and Donald Knuth
Donald Knuth
Donald Ervin Knuth is a computer scientist and Professor Emeritus at Stanford University.He is the author of the seminal multi-volume work The Art of Computer Programming. Knuth has been called the "father" of the analysis of algorithms...
in writing Concrete Mathematics: A Foundation for Computer Science
Concrete Mathematics
Concrete Mathematics: A Foundation for Computer Science, by Ronald Graham, Donald Knuth, and Oren Patashnik, is a mathematical textbook that is widely used in computer-science departments. It provides mathematical knowledge and skills for computer science, especially for the analysis of algorithms...
http://www.cs.fsu.edu/~mascagni/cot_5507.html, an important mathematical publication and college textbook.
In 1990, he got his doctorate in computer science. His thesis paper was about "Optimal Circuit Segmentation for Pseudo-Exhaustive Testing" http://www.castu.tsinghua.edu.cn/yao/students.htm.
After the 2003 Cedar Fire
Cedar Fire
The Cedar Fire was a human-caused wildfire that burned out of control through a large area of San Diego County, in Southern California, in October 2003...
destroyed 60% of the houses in his immediate neighborhood, his statistical study showed that houses with a wood-shake shingle roof did very badly, but surprisingly, so did houses with a Spanish-style, curved-red-tile roof.