Robert Fano

Updated: 12/30/2019 by Computer Hope
Robert Fano

Name: Robert Mario Fano

Born: November 11, 1917, in Torino (Turin), Italy

Computer-related contributions

  • Computer Scientist and Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  • Known for his work on information theory, inventing (with Claude Shannon) Shannon-Fano coding.
  • Involved in the development of time-sharing computers, and served as director of MIT's Project MAC from its founding.
  • Published articles and books about microwave systems, electromagnetism, network theory, and engineering education.

Significant publications

  • Transmission of Information: A Statistical Theory of Communications (1961).
  • Electromagnetic Fields, Energy, and Forces (1960).
  • Electromagnetic Energy Transmission and Radiation (1960).

Honors and awards

  • Claude E. Shannon Award (1976).
  • Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
  • Member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.

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