Randal Bryant
Encyclopedia
Randal E. Bryant is an American
computer scientist
and academic noted for his research on formally verifying digital hardware, and more recently some forms of software. He is also Dean
of Carnegie Mellon University
's School of Computer Science, where he has taught since 1984.
Bryant's 1986 paper on symbolic Boolean
manipulation using Ordered Binary Decision Diagrams
(BDDs) has the highest citation count of any publication in the Citeseer
database of computer science literature. In addition, he has developed several techniques to verify circuit
s by symbolic simulation, with levels of abstraction ranging from transistors to very high-level representations.
Bryant is a fellow of the IEEE and the ACM
, as well as a member of the National Academy of Engineering
. He was awarded the 1997 ACM Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award for contributing to the development of symbolic model checking, the 1989 IEEE W.R.G. Baker Prize Paper Award for the best paper appearing in any IEEE publication during the preceding year, as well as the 2007 IEEE Emanuel R. Piore Award
In 2009 Bryant was awarded the Phil Kaufman Award
by the EDA
Consortium, "for his seminal technological breakthroughs in the area of formal verification."
and is the son of John H. Bryant and Barbara E. Bryant. He received his B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Michigan
in 1973, and his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1981. He was on the faculty at Caltech from 1981 to 1984.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
computer scientist
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....
and academic noted for his research on formally verifying digital hardware, and more recently some forms of software. He is also Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
's School of Computer Science, where he has taught since 1984.
Bryant's 1986 paper on symbolic Boolean
Boolean logic
Boolean algebra is a logical calculus of truth values, developed by George Boole in the 1840s. It resembles the algebra of real numbers, but with the numeric operations of multiplication xy, addition x + y, and negation −x replaced by the respective logical operations of...
manipulation using Ordered Binary Decision Diagrams
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...
(BDDs) has the highest citation count of any publication in the Citeseer
CiteSeer
CiteSeer was a public search engine and digital library for scientific and academic papers. It is often considered to be the first automated citation indexing system and was considered a predecessor of academic search tools such as Google Scholar and Microsoft Academic Search. It was replaced by...
database of computer science literature. In addition, he has developed several techniques to verify circuit
Electronic circuit
An electronic circuit is composed of individual electronic components, such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected by conductive wires or traces through which electric current can flow...
s by symbolic simulation, with levels of abstraction ranging from transistors to very high-level representations.
Bryant is a fellow of the IEEE and 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...
, as well as a member of 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...
. He was awarded the 1997 ACM Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award for contributing to the development of symbolic model checking, the 1989 IEEE W.R.G. Baker Prize Paper Award for the best paper appearing in any IEEE publication during the preceding year, as well as the 2007 IEEE Emanuel R. Piore Award
IEEE Emanuel R. Piore Award
The IEEE Emanuel R. Piore Award is a Technical Field Award given each year by the IEEE to an individual or small team that has made outstanding contributions to information processing systems in relation to computer science. The award is named in honor of Emanuel R. Piore.The award was established...
In 2009 Bryant was awarded the Phil Kaufman Award
Phil Kaufman Award
Phil Kaufman Award is established by the EDA Consortium to recognize individuals for their impact on electronic design by their contributions to electronic design automation...
by the EDA
Electronic design automation
Electronic design automation is a category of software tools for designing electronic systems such as printed circuit boards and integrated circuits...
Consortium, "for his seminal technological breakthroughs in the area of formal verification."
Early life and education
Bryant was raised in Birmingham, MichiganBirmingham, Michigan
Birmingham is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan and an affluent suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103...
and is the son of John H. Bryant and Barbara E. Bryant. He received his B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1973, and his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1981. He was on the faculty at Caltech from 1981 to 1984.