Per Hansen

Name: Per Brinch Hansen

Born: November 13, 1938, in Frederiksberg, in Copenhagen, Denmark

Death: July 31, 2007 (Age: 68)

Computer-related contributions

• Danish-American computer scientist.
• Expert in concurrent programming theory and operating system kernels.
• Coined the Danish word for computer, "datamat." (English: "datamaton.")

Significant publications

• A Programmer's Story: The Life of a Computer Pioneer (2004).
• The Origin of Concurrent Programming: From Semaphores to Remote Procedure Calls (2004).
• Classic Operating Systems: From Batch Processing to Distributed Systems (2001).
• Programming for Everyone in Java (1999).
• The Search for Simplicity: Essays in Parallel Programming (1996).
• Concurrent Programming: The Architecture of Concurrent Programs (1977).
• Operating system Principles (1973).

Honors and awards

• IEEE Computer Pioneer Award (2002).
• Chancellor's Medal, Syracuse University (1989).
• IEEE Fellow (1985).
• Doctor Technices (1978).

Quotes

"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."