The Danish-American computer scientist, Per Brinch Hansen, was born November 13, 1938, in Frederiksberg, a suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark. He is currently a professor at
Syracuse University, NY.
Per Brinch Hansen is one of the pioneers of ).
In the 1960s, Per Brinch Hansen worked at the Danish computer company Regnecentralen, first in the Compiler group headed by Peter Naur and Jørn Jensen, and, later, as the chief architect of the RC 4000 minicomputer and its renowned operating system kernel (RC 4000 Multiprogramming System). In 1972, he wrote the first comprehensive textbook on Operating System Principles .
Since 1970 his research in computer science has focused on concurrent programming: Inspired by Ole-Johan Dahl and Kristen Nygaard s programming language Simula 67, he invented the Monitor (synchronization) in 1972. In the United States, he also developed the first concurrent programming language, Concurrent Pascal, in 1975. In 1977, he wrote the first book on Concurrent Programming: The Architecture of Concurrent Programs .
More recently, Brinch Hansen has documented the historical development of these fundamental areas of computer science.
= Education =
1957 High School graduation, St. Jørgens Gymnasium, Frederiksberg
1963 MS in Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark
= Professional experience =
1963–1970 Systems Programmer, Regnecentralen, Copenhagen, Denmark
1967–1970 Head of Software Development, Regnecentralen
1970–1972 Research Associate, Carnegie-Mellon University
1972–1976 Associate Professor, California Institute of Technology
1976–1982 Professor, University of Southern California
1982–1984 Henry Salvatori Professor, University of Southern California
1984–1987 Professor, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
1987–present Distinguished Professor, Syracuse University
= Honors and awards =
1978 Doctor Technices, Technical University of Denmark, for The Architecture of Concurrent Programs
1985 IEEE Fellow
1989 Chancellor s Medal, Syracuse University
2002 IEEE Computer Pioneer Award for pioneering development in operating systems and concurrent programming exemplified by work on the RC 4000 multiprogramming system, monitors, and Concurrent Pascal
= Bibliography =
Operating System Principles (1973, ISBN 0-13-637843-9)
The Architecture of Concurrent Programs (1977, ISBN 0-13-044628-9)
Programming a Personal Computer (1983, ISBN 0-13-730267-3)
Brinch Hansen on Pascal Compilers (1985, ISBN 0-13-083098-4)
Studies in Computational Science: Parallel Programming Paradigms (1995, ISBN 0-13-439324-4)
The Search for Simplicity: Essays in Parallel Programming (1996)
Programming for Everyone in Java (1999, ISBN 0-387-98683-9)
Classic Operating Systems: From Batch Processing to Distributed Systems (editor, 2001, ISBN 0-387-95113-X)
The Origin of Concurrent Programming: From Semaphores to Remote Procedure Calls (editor, 2004, ISBN 0387954015)
A Programmer s Story: The Life of a Computer Pioneer (2004, available at http://brinch-hansen.net/)
= Quotations =
Writing is a rigorous test of simplicity: It is just not possible to write convincingly about ideas that cannot be understood
Programming is the art of writing essays in crystal clear prose and making them executable
= External links =
[http://brinch-hansen.net Personal website with memoirs, selected papers and detailed bibliography]
[http://web.syr.edu/~pbhansen/ Syracuse University site for Per Brinch Hansen]
[http://www.datamuseum.dk/ Early papers by Per Brinch Hansen (1966–1970) at the Danish Datamuseum]