Oscar H. Ibarra, professor of computer science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has been awarded the 2007 Blaise Pascal Medal for Computer Science by the European Academy of Sciences. The academy established the medal in 2003 to recognize outstanding and demonstrated personal contribution to science and technology, and the promotion of excellence in research and education.
The academy is based in Belgium, and will hold an awards ceremony for this year's winners in Brussels on September 12. Six awards will be presented in a variety of disciplines in addition to computer science. They are: biology and life sciences, chemistry, materials sciences, Earth sciences, and physics.
The award to Ibarra is in recognition of his outstanding contributions in several areas of computer science. These include: theory of computing, design and analysis of algorithms, computational complexity, parallel computing, formal verification, and membrane computing.
The European Academy of Sciences is a non-profit, non-governmental, independent organization of distinguished scholars and engineers engaged in research and development of advanced technologies. The members are united by a commitment to promoting science and technology and their essential roles in fostering social and economic development. The academy elects its members based only on their scientific merits.
Ibarra joined the faculty at UCSB in 1990 and is a past chair of the Department of Computer Science. Ibarra received his B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of the Philippines and his M.S. and Ph.D., also in electrical engineering, from the University of California, Berkeley. Previously he served on the faculty of UC Berkeley, from 1967 to 1969, and the faculty of the University of Minnesota, from 1969 to 1990.
Share this article
