DONALD KNUTH, the Fletcher Jones Professor of Computer Science, Emeritus, received the 2010 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Information and Communication Technologies category.
The prize jury applauded Knuth for “making computing a science by introducing formal mathematical techniques for the rigorous analysis of algorithms. He brought elegance into programming by advocating for code that is simple, compact and intuitively understandable.”
The jury chair, ANDREA GOLDSMITH, right, professor of electrical engineering at Stanford, unveiled the name of the new laureate at an announcement event in the Marqués de Salamanca Palace, the Madrid headquarters of the BBVA Foundation, where she was accompanied by the foundation’s director, Rafael Pardo, and Juan José Damborenea, assistant vice president of scientific and technical areas at the Spanish National Research Council.
Knuth’s nomination was put forward by Stanford President JOHN HENNESSY and endorsed by a number of Knuth’s colleagues across the world.
The Frontiers of Knowledge Awards, presented in eight categories, were first given in 2008. The BBVA Foundation is the corporate social responsibility arm of the BBVA Group, a multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Spain. BBVA stands for Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria.
