#acmturingaward — Public Fediverse posts

Happy Birthday, Jack J. Dongarra! Dongarra received the #ACMTuringAward in 2021 for his pioneering contributions to numerical algorithms and libraries that have enabled high-performance computational software to keep pace with exponential hardware improvements.

This video highlights some of Dongarra's achievements: https://youtu.be/Oe9LRKoE6L0?si=R-kg9QjodSU3omId

Happy Birthday, Jack J. Dongarra! Dongarra received the #ACMTuringAward in 2021 for his pioneering contributions to numerical algorithms and libraries that have enabled high-performance computational software to keep pace with exponential hardware improvements.

This video highlights some of Dongarra's achievements: https://youtu.be/Oe9LRKoE6L0?si=R-kg9QjodSU3omId

HBD, Yann LeCun! LeCun received the 2018 #ACMTuringAward for conceptual and engineering breakthroughs that have made deep neural networks a critical component of computing. LeCun is often called a “godfather of #AI” because of his early work in the field. https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/lecun_6017366.cfm

HBD, Yann LeCun! LeCun received the 2018 #ACMTuringAward for conceptual and engineering breakthroughs that have made deep neural networks a critical component of computing. LeCun is often called a “godfather of #AI” because of his early work in the field. https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/lecun_6017366.cfm

Happy Birthday Adi Shamir! Shamir received the 2002 #ACMTuringAward w/ Leonard Adleman and Ron Rivest for making public-key #cryptography useful in practice. Their method is still used in almost all internet-based commercial transactions: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/shamir_2327856.cfm

Happy Birthday Adi Shamir! Shamir received the 2002 #ACMTuringAward w/ Leonard Adleman and Ron Rivest for making public-key #cryptography useful in practice. Their method is still used in almost all internet-based commercial transactions: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/shamir_2327856.cfm

#OTD in 1928, #ACMTuringAward recipient Juris Hartmanis was born. Hartmanis and Richard E. Stearns received the award in 1993 in recognition of their paper which established the foundations for the field of computational complexity theory. He discusses their collaboration: https://youtu.be/PkjXQzjt42A?si=QaGN-tQueVvy6X2z

#OTD in 1928, #ACMTuringAward recipient Juris Hartmanis was born. Hartmanis and Richard E. Stearns received the award in 1993 in recognition of their paper which established the foundations for the field of computational complexity theory. He discusses their collaboration: https://youtu.be/PkjXQzjt42A?si=QaGN-tQueVvy6X2z

Happy Birthday, Richard E. Stearns! Stearns received the 1993 #ACMTuringAward with Juris Hartmanis in recognition of their seminal paper which established the foundations for the field of computational complexity theory.

In this video, Stearns describes how he and Harmanis discovered the breakthroughs that contributed to their paper. The full video is here: https://youtu.be/Z-Ek0CCThZQ?si=3N5QU1RNmNqJb8ia

#ComputerScience #computationalcomplexity #TuringAward

Happy Birthday, Richard E. Stearns! Stearns received the 1993 #ACMTuringAward with Juris Hartmanis in recognition of their seminal paper which established the foundations for the field of computational complexity theory.

In this video, Stearns describes how he and Harmanis discovered the breakthroughs that contributed to their paper. The full video is here: https://youtu.be/Z-Ek0CCThZQ?si=3N5QU1RNmNqJb8ia

#ComputerScience #computationalcomplexity #TuringAward

"Even when you write a paper about a pretty obviously significant theoretical idea, people don’t take you seriously until you build it and do an experiment."

What's in our latest edition of #AdvancesInComputing:
- the much-anticipated conversation with the 2025 #ACMTuringAward recipients;
- A.I. for software engineering;
- exploring the relationship between technology, joy, and justice
& more.

Grab a copy via #Substack📜 : https://open.substack.com/pub/theofficialacm/p/what-led-you-to-that-insight?r=6w5qsy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

"Even when you write a paper about a pretty obviously significant theoretical idea, people don’t take you seriously until you build it and do an experiment."

What's in our latest edition of #AdvancesInComputing:
- the much-anticipated conversation with the 2025 #ACMTuringAward recipients;
- A.I. for software engineering;
- exploring the relationship between technology, joy, and justice
& more.

Grab a copy via #Substack📜 : https://open.substack.com/pub/theofficialacm/p/what-led-you-to-that-insight?r=6w5qsy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Today in 1926 #ACMTuringAward recipient Fernando J. Corbato was born. He received the award in 1990 for his pioneering work organizing the concepts and leading the development of the general-purpose, large-scale, time-sharing and resource-sharing computer systems, CTSS and Multics. Many of Corbato’s ideas are now ingrained in computer science ideology, including: dynamic linking; hierarchical file systems; and paging and segmentation. https://buff.ly/faELhos

Today in 1926 #ACMTuringAward recipient Fernando J. Corbato was born. He received the award in 1990 for his pioneering work organizing the concepts and leading the development of the general-purpose, large-scale, time-sharing and resource-sharing computer systems, CTSS and Multics. Many of Corbato’s ideas are now ingrained in computer science ideology, including: dynamic linking; hierarchical file systems; and paging and segmentation. https://buff.ly/faELhos

On this day in 1913, Maurice V. Wilkes was born. Wilkes is best known as the builder and designer of the EDSAC, the first computer with an internally stored program. He received the 1967 #ACMTuringAward for his many contributions to the field of #computerscience: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/wilkes_1001395.cfm

On this day in 1913, Maurice V. Wilkes was born. Wilkes is best known as the builder and designer of the EDSAC, the first computer with an internally stored program. He received the 1967 #ACMTuringAward for his many contributions to the field of #computerscience: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/wilkes_1001395.cfm

What is information? How to use quantum mechanics for cryptography?

Find out the answers in our latest interview with #ACMTuringAward recipients Charles H. Bennett and Gilles Brassard.

Watch the laureates discuss details of their work and explain how quantum information science provides a new way to communicate information.

For full video, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cYKffEf95Y

What is information? How to use quantum mechanics for cryptography?

Find out the answers in our latest interview with #ACMTuringAward recipients Charles H. Bennett and Gilles Brassard.

Watch the laureates discuss details of their work and explain how quantum information science provides a new way to communicate information.

For full video, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cYKffEf95Y

HBD, Vint Cerf! Cerf received the 2004 #ACMTuringAward with Bob Kahn for pioneering work on internetworking, including the design and implementation of the Internet's basic communications protocols, TCP/IP, and for inspired leadership in networking: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/cerf_1083211.cfm

HBD, Vint Cerf! Cerf received the 2004 #ACMTuringAward with Bob Kahn for pioneering work on internetworking, including the design and implementation of the Internet's basic communications protocols, TCP/IP, and for inspired leadership in networking: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/cerf_1083211.cfm

On this day in 1916, Herbert ("Herb") Alexander Simon, was born. Simon received the 1975 #ACMTuringAward with co-recipient Allen Newell for making basic contributions to AI, the psychology of human cognition, and list processing: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/simon_1031467.cfm

On this day in 1916, Herbert ("Herb") Alexander Simon, was born. Simon received the 1975 #ACMTuringAward with co-recipient Allen Newell for making basic contributions to AI, the psychology of human cognition, and list processing: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/simon_1031467.cfm

HBD, Raj Reddy! Reddy received the 1994 #ACMTuringAward for pioneering the design and construction of large scale AI systems, demonstrating the practical importance and potential commercial impact of AI tech. Reddy on his introduction to speech recognition technology: https://youtu.be/l0pBxEL-N-o?si=p89Sh_pXnGK85_fD

HBD, Raj Reddy! Reddy received the 1994 #ACMTuringAward for pioneering the design and construction of large scale AI systems, demonstrating the practical importance and potential commercial impact of AI tech. Reddy on his introduction to speech recognition technology: https://youtu.be/l0pBxEL-N-o?si=p89Sh_pXnGK85_fD

Bob Floyd was born #OTD in 1936. He received the 1978 #ACMTuringAward for having a clear influence on methodologies for the creation of efficient and reliable software, and for helping to found important subfields of computer science. https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/floyd_3720707.cfm

Bob Floyd was born #OTD in 1936. He received the 1978 #ACMTuringAward for having a clear influence on methodologies for the creation of efficient and reliable software, and for helping to found important subfields of computer science. https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/floyd_3720707.cfm

Happy Birthday, Sir Tim Berners-Lee! Berners-Lee received the 2016 #ACMTuringAward for inventing the World Wide Web, the first web browser, and the fundamental protocols and algorithms allowing the Web to scale. https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/berners-lee_8087960.cfm

Happy Birthday, Sir Tim Berners-Lee! Berners-Lee received the 2016 #ACMTuringAward for inventing the World Wide Web, the first web browser, and the fundamental protocols and algorithms allowing the Web to scale. https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/berners-lee_8087960.cfm

Happy Birthday William Morton Kahan! Kahan received the 1989 #ACMTuringAward for his fundamental contributions to numerical analysis. He explains how he incorporated Solve, Integrate, and Matrix functions into HP’s programmable calculators: https://youtu.be/5mBw7tnRx1c

Happy Birthday William Morton Kahan! Kahan received the 1989 #ACMTuringAward for his fundamental contributions to numerical analysis. He explains how he incorporated Solve, Integrate, and Matrix functions into HP’s programmable calculators: https://youtu.be/5mBw7tnRx1c

Happy Birthday, Whitfield Diffie! Diffie received the 2015 #ACMTuringAward for inventing and promulgating both asymmetric public-key cryptography, including its application to digital signatures, and a practical cryptographic key-exchange method.

Diffie says the counterculture of the 1960’s inspired his interest in cryptography. Watch him explain: https://youtu.be/d820zuDbYIg

#ACM #Computing #TuringAward #ComputerScience #Encryption #Cryptography #Cryptographic #Pioneer #AI #Counterculture

Happy Birthday, Whitfield Diffie! Diffie received the 2015 #ACMTuringAward for inventing and promulgating both asymmetric public-key cryptography, including its application to digital signatures, and a practical cryptographic key-exchange method.

Diffie says the counterculture of the 1960’s inspired his interest in cryptography. Watch him explain: https://youtu.be/d820zuDbYIg

#ACM #Computing #TuringAward #ComputerScience #Encryption #Cryptography #Cryptographic #Pioneer #AI #Counterculture

Today in 1954, Turing Award recipient E. Allen Emerson was born. Together with Edmund Clarke and Joseph Sifakis, Emerson received the 2007 #ACMTuringAward for developing Model-Checking into a highly effective verification technology that is widely adopted in the hardware and software industries.

Emerson explains Model-Checking in 2019: https://youtu.be/sUwxA8px7O8
#ACM #Computing #TuringAward #ComputerScience #SoftwareEngineer #Software #SoftwareDevelopment #ModelChecking #Technology #Hardware

Today in 1954, Turing Award recipient E. Allen Emerson was born. Together with Edmund Clarke and Joseph Sifakis, Emerson received the 2007 #ACMTuringAward for developing Model-Checking into a highly effective verification technology that is widely adopted in the hardware and software industries.

Emerson explains Model-Checking in 2019: https://youtu.be/sUwxA8px7O8
#ACM #Computing #TuringAward #ComputerScience #SoftwareEngineer #Software #SoftwareDevelopment #ModelChecking #Technology #Hardware

On this day in 1925, 1987 #ACMTuringAward recipient John Cocke was born. He received the award for significant contributions to computer architecture and optimizing compilers. ttps://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/cocke_2083115.cfm #OTD #pioneer #computing

On this day in 1925, 1987 #ACMTuringAward recipient John Cocke was born. He received the award for significant contributions to computer architecture and optimizing compilers. ttps://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/cocke_2083115.cfm #OTD #pioneer #computing

Happy birthday, Alan Kay! Kay received the 2003 #ACMTuringAward for pioneering many of the ideas at the root of contemporary object-oriented programming languages, leading the team that developed Smalltalk, and for fundamental contributions to personal computing. https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/kay_3972189.cfm

Happy birthday, Alan Kay! Kay received the 2003 #ACMTuringAward for pioneering many of the ideas at the root of contemporary object-oriented programming languages, leading the team that developed Smalltalk, and for fundamental contributions to personal computing. https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/kay_3972189.cfm

Der Mann, der Ihr Smartphone erdacht hat

Tippen Sie gerade auf einem Smartphone? Wischen Sie durch ein Menü mit Icons? Nutzen Sie eine Maus? Dann arbeiten Sie mit Ideen, die ein Mann vor über 50 Jahren skizziert hat. Damals noch auf Papier – für einen Computer, den es noch gar nicht gab.

Alan Kay wird 86 – ein Visionär, dessen Ideen unseren Alltag prägen

Am 17. Mai 2026 feiert Alan Curtis Kay seinen 86. Geburtstag. Der US-amerikanische Informatiker gilt als einer der einflussreichsten Vordenker der Computergeschichte – und ist dennoch dem breiten Publikum weit weniger bekannt als seine Ideen. Ein guter Anlass, ihn und sein Werk zu entdecken. 

Wer ist Alan Kay?

Alan Curtis Kay wurde am 17. Mai 1940 in Springfield, Massachusetts, geboren als Sohn eines australischen Prothesenbauers und einer US-amerikanischen Musikerin. Diese ungewöhnliche Mischung aus Naturwissenschaft und Kunst sollte sein gesamtes Denken prägen. Kay war nicht nur Informatiker: Im Laufe seines Lebens arbeitete er als professioneller Jazzgitarrist, Komponist, Theatergestalter und klassischer Organist – ein Denker mit Künstlerseele.

Er studierte Mathematik, Molekularbiologie und schließlich Informatik an der University of Utah, wo er mit Ivan Sutherland – dem Pionier der Computergrafik – zusammenarbeitete. 1969 promovierte er mit einer Dissertation über ein von ihm entwickeltes Konzept/System namens FLEX, ein früher Vorläufer dessen, was später als Personal Computer die Welt verändern sollte.[1]

Das Dynabook – das Tablet, das seiner Zeit 40 Jahre voraus war

1968 hatte Kay eine Vision, die ihn nicht mehr losließ: ein flacher, tragbarer Computer, leicht genug für ein Kind, mit dem man lesen, schreiben, rechnen und programmieren konnte. Er nannte es das Dynabook. Gebaut wurde es nie, aber Jahrzehnte später hielt die Welt sein Konzept in Händen: als iPad, als Kindle, als Laptop.

Kay ließ sich dabei von Seymour Papert inspirieren, dem Pionier des Lernens mit Computern am MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Seine Überzeugung: Computer sollten keine Rechenmaschinen für Experten sein, sondern Werkzeuge des Denkens für alle – besonders für Kinder.[2]

Xerox PARC – die Werkstatt der Zukunft

Ab 1971 arbeitete Kay ein Jahrzehnt lang im legendären Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) [3] des Xerox-Konzerns in Kalifornien. Dort entwickelte er gemeinsam mit Kolleginnen und Kollegen zwei Erfindungen, die die Computerwelt bis heute prägen:

• Smalltalk – eine der ersten objektorientierten Programmiersprachen, die Grundlage für Objective-C, Java, Ruby, Python und viele weitere moderne Sprachen war[4].
• Die grafische Benutzeroberfläche (GUI) – Fenster, Icons, Maus, Menüs. Was Apple mit dem Macintosh 1984 der Welt präsentierte, stammte konzeptionell aus dem PARC. Steve Jobs selbst besuchte das Labor und ließ sich inspirieren.

Kay drehte in dieser Zeit Filme, in denen Kinder mit Computern spielten und eigene Programme schrieben – in einer Ära, in der Computer noch riesige, unzugängliche Maschinen für Spezialisten waren.

Der Turing Award

2003 erhielt Kay den ACM Turing Award – den höchsten Preis der Informatik, oft als „Nobelpreis der Informatik“ bezeichnet. Die Begründung: „… für viele der Ideen, die den heutigen objektorientierten Programmiersprachen zugrunde liegen, für die Leitung des Teams, das Smalltalk entwickelt hat, und für grundlegende Beiträge zum Personal Computing.“

Werke von und über Alan Kay

Wer tiefer in Kays Denken eintauchen möchte, findet in unserem Bestand sowie Fachdatenbanken wie zum Beispiel der „ACM Digital Library“ hervorragendes Material:

Schriften von Alan Kay

• Kay, Alan (1972): A Personal Computer for Children of All Ages – das ursprüngliche Dynabook-Konzeptpapier (frei online über ACM) https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/800193.1971922
• Kay, Alan Curtis (1968): FLEX – a flexible extendable language (über TIB-Portal und vor Ort)
• Goldberg, A., & Kay, A. (1977): Methods for teaching the programming language Smalltalk. In Teaching Smalltalk (Issue 1). XEROX Palo Alto Research Center (über TIB-Portal und vor Ort)
• Kay, Alan (1993): The Early History of Smalltalk – Kays persönliche Rückschau auf die Entstehung von Smalltalk (frei online über ACM) https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/154766.155364
• Kay, A. (2002). The Computer Revolution Hasn’t Happened Yet. In: Herczeg, M., Prinz, W., Oberquelle, H. (eds) Mensch & Computer 2002. Berichte des German Chapter of the ACM, vol 56. Vieweg+Teubner Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-89884-5_3

Unterschiedliche Medien über Kay und seine Epoche (Bibliotheksbestand)

• Kay, A. (2017). The HLF Portraits: Alan Kay. In The HLF Portraits. Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation. https://doi.org/10.5446/40194
• Goldberg, Adele / Robson, David: Smalltalk-80: The Language and Its Implementation (1983) – Das Standardwerk zur von Kay mitentwickelten Sprache. ISBN 978-0201113716 (über TIB-Portal)
• Shasha, Dennis / Lazere, Cathy: Out of Their Minds: The Lives and Discoveries of 15 Great Computer Scientists (1995) – enthält ein eigenes Kapitel über Kay. Corr. 2. printing. Copernicus. ISBN 0387979921 (über TIB Portal)

„Die Computer-Revolution hat noch nicht begonnen

Was bleibt von Alan Kay? Eine scheinbar paradoxe Aussage: 1997 erklärte er, die Computer-Revolution habe noch gar nicht stattgefunden – und steht bis heute zu dieser Einschätzung. Für Kay sind Computer noch immer zu sehr Werkzeuge der Routine und zu wenig Instrumente des tiefen Denkens. Seine Vision war stets eine andere: Computer, die Menschen helfen, Ideen zu entwickeln, die Welt wirklich zu verstehen und Probleme grundlegend neu zu durchdenken.

In Zeiten Künstlicher Intelligenz, in denen Maschinen immer mehr Aufgaben übernehmen, klingt Kays Frage aktueller denn je: Nutzen wir Technologie wirklich, um klüger zu werden – oder nur, um schneller zu sein? Am 17. Mai feiert er seinen 86. Geburtstag. Ein guter Anlass, sein Denken (wieder) zu entdecken – in unserer Bibliothek und online.

Weitere Quellen & Nachweise

• Wikipedia DE: Alan Kay (Biografie, Werke, Auszeichnungen) – https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kay
• Heise Online: Porträt zum 80. Geburtstag (Mai 2020) – https://www.heise.de/news/Der-Mann-der-Visionen-hatte-Zum-80-Geburtstag-von-Alan-Kay-4722700.html
• HNF Blog: „Alan Kay – der Visionär“ – https://blog.hnf.de/alan-kay-der-visionaer/
• ACM Turing Award 2003: offizielle Begründung – https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/kay_3972189.cfm
• Computer History Museum: Alan Kay – https://computerhistory.org/profile/alan-kay/
• Friedewald, M. (2003) Ein Computer für Kinder jeden Alters: Alan Kay und die Ursprünge grafischer Benutzungsoberflächen. i-com, Vol. 2 (Issue 2), pp. 38-42.

[1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kay

[2] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynabook

[3] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_PARC

[4] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smalltalk_(Programmiersprache)

Der Mann, der Ihr Smartphone erdacht hat

Tippen Sie gerade auf einem Smartphone? Wischen Sie durch ein Menü mit Icons? Nutzen Sie eine Maus? Dann arbeiten Sie mit Ideen, die ein Mann vor über 50 Jahren skizziert hat. Damals noch auf Papier – für einen Computer, den es noch gar nicht gab.

Alan Kay wird 86 – ein Visionär, dessen Ideen unseren Alltag prägen

Am 17. Mai 2026 feiert Alan Curtis Kay seinen 86. Geburtstag. Der US-amerikanische Informatiker gilt als einer der einflussreichsten Vordenker der Computergeschichte – und ist dennoch dem breiten Publikum weit weniger bekannt als seine Ideen. Ein guter Anlass, ihn und sein Werk zu entdecken. 

Wer ist Alan Kay?

Alan Curtis Kay wurde am 17. Mai 1940 in Springfield, Massachusetts, geboren als Sohn eines australischen Prothesenbauers und einer US-amerikanischen Musikerin. Diese ungewöhnliche Mischung aus Naturwissenschaft und Kunst sollte sein gesamtes Denken prägen. Kay war nicht nur Informatiker: Im Laufe seines Lebens arbeitete er als professioneller Jazzgitarrist, Komponist, Theatergestalter und klassischer Organist – ein Denker mit Künstlerseele.

Er studierte Mathematik, Molekularbiologie und schließlich Informatik an der University of Utah, wo er mit Ivan Sutherland – dem Pionier der Computergrafik – zusammenarbeitete. 1969 promovierte er mit einer Dissertation über ein von ihm entwickeltes Konzept/System namens FLEX, ein früher Vorläufer dessen, was später als Personal Computer die Welt verändern sollte.[1]

Das Dynabook – das Tablet, das seiner Zeit 40 Jahre voraus war

1968 hatte Kay eine Vision, die ihn nicht mehr losließ: ein flacher, tragbarer Computer, leicht genug für ein Kind, mit dem man lesen, schreiben, rechnen und programmieren konnte. Er nannte es das Dynabook. Gebaut wurde es nie, aber Jahrzehnte später hielt die Welt sein Konzept in Händen: als iPad, als Kindle, als Laptop.

Kay ließ sich dabei von Seymour Papert inspirieren, dem Pionier des Lernens mit Computern am MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Seine Überzeugung: Computer sollten keine Rechenmaschinen für Experten sein, sondern Werkzeuge des Denkens für alle – besonders für Kinder.[2]

Xerox PARC – die Werkstatt der Zukunft

Ab 1971 arbeitete Kay ein Jahrzehnt lang im legendären Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) [3] des Xerox-Konzerns in Kalifornien. Dort entwickelte er gemeinsam mit Kolleginnen und Kollegen zwei Erfindungen, die die Computerwelt bis heute prägen:

• Smalltalk – eine der ersten objektorientierten Programmiersprachen, die Grundlage für Objective-C, Java, Ruby, Python und viele weitere moderne Sprachen war[4].
• Die grafische Benutzeroberfläche (GUI) – Fenster, Icons, Maus, Menüs. Was Apple mit dem Macintosh 1984 der Welt präsentierte, stammte konzeptionell aus dem PARC. Steve Jobs selbst besuchte das Labor und ließ sich inspirieren.

Kay drehte in dieser Zeit Filme, in denen Kinder mit Computern spielten und eigene Programme schrieben – in einer Ära, in der Computer noch riesige, unzugängliche Maschinen für Spezialisten waren.

Der Turing Award

2003 erhielt Kay den ACM Turing Award – den höchsten Preis der Informatik, oft als „Nobelpreis der Informatik“ bezeichnet. Die Begründung: „… für viele der Ideen, die den heutigen objektorientierten Programmiersprachen zugrunde liegen, für die Leitung des Teams, das Smalltalk entwickelt hat, und für grundlegende Beiträge zum Personal Computing.“

Werke von und über Alan Kay

Wer tiefer in Kays Denken eintauchen möchte, findet in unserem Bestand sowie Fachdatenbanken wie zum Beispiel der „ACM Digital Library“ hervorragendes Material:

Schriften von Alan Kay

• Kay, Alan (1972): A Personal Computer for Children of All Ages – das ursprüngliche Dynabook-Konzeptpapier (frei online über ACM) https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/800193.1971922
• Kay, Alan Curtis (1968): FLEX – a flexible extendable language (über TIB-Portal und vor Ort)
• Goldberg, A., & Kay, A. (1977): Methods for teaching the programming language Smalltalk. In Teaching Smalltalk (Issue 1). XEROX Palo Alto Research Center (über TIB-Portal und vor Ort)
• Kay, Alan (1993): The Early History of Smalltalk – Kays persönliche Rückschau auf die Entstehung von Smalltalk (frei online über ACM) https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/154766.155364
• Kay, A. (2002). The Computer Revolution Hasn’t Happened Yet. In: Herczeg, M., Prinz, W., Oberquelle, H. (eds) Mensch & Computer 2002. Berichte des German Chapter of the ACM, vol 56. Vieweg+Teubner Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-89884-5_3

Unterschiedliche Medien über Kay und seine Epoche (Bibliotheksbestand)

• Kay, A. (2017). The HLF Portraits: Alan Kay. In The HLF Portraits. Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation. https://doi.org/10.5446/40194
• Goldberg, Adele / Robson, David: Smalltalk-80: The Language and Its Implementation (1983) – Das Standardwerk zur von Kay mitentwickelten Sprache. ISBN 978-0201113716 (über TIB-Portal)
• Shasha, Dennis / Lazere, Cathy: Out of Their Minds: The Lives and Discoveries of 15 Great Computer Scientists (1995) – enthält ein eigenes Kapitel über Kay. Corr. 2. printing. Copernicus. ISBN 0387979921 (über TIB Portal)

„Die Computer-Revolution hat noch nicht begonnen

Was bleibt von Alan Kay? Eine scheinbar paradoxe Aussage: 1997 erklärte er, die Computer-Revolution habe noch gar nicht stattgefunden – und steht bis heute zu dieser Einschätzung. Für Kay sind Computer noch immer zu sehr Werkzeuge der Routine und zu wenig Instrumente des tiefen Denkens. Seine Vision war stets eine andere: Computer, die Menschen helfen, Ideen zu entwickeln, die Welt wirklich zu verstehen und Probleme grundlegend neu zu durchdenken.

In Zeiten Künstlicher Intelligenz, in denen Maschinen immer mehr Aufgaben übernehmen, klingt Kays Frage aktueller denn je: Nutzen wir Technologie wirklich, um klüger zu werden – oder nur, um schneller zu sein? Am 17. Mai feiert er seinen 86. Geburtstag. Ein guter Anlass, sein Denken (wieder) zu entdecken – in unserer Bibliothek und online.

Weitere Quellen & Nachweise

• Wikipedia DE: Alan Kay (Biografie, Werke, Auszeichnungen) – https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kay
• Heise Online: Porträt zum 80. Geburtstag (Mai 2020) – https://www.heise.de/news/Der-Mann-der-Visionen-hatte-Zum-80-Geburtstag-von-Alan-Kay-4722700.html
• HNF Blog: „Alan Kay – der Visionär“ – https://blog.hnf.de/alan-kay-der-visionaer/
• ACM Turing Award 2003: offizielle Begründung – https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/kay_3972189.cfm
• Computer History Museum: Alan Kay – https://computerhistory.org/profile/alan-kay/
• Friedewald, M. (2003) Ein Computer für Kinder jeden Alters: Alan Kay und die Ursprünge grafischer Benutzungsoberflächen. i-com, Vol. 2 (Issue 2), pp. 38-42.

[1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kay

[2] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynabook

[3] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_PARC

[4] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smalltalk_(Programmiersprache)

Happy Birthday to Ivan Sutherland, recipient of the 1988 #ACMTuringAward for his pioneering and visionary contributions to computer graphics, starting with Sketchpad, a groundbreaking interactive computer-aided design system, and continuing thereafter: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/sutherland_3467412.cfm

Happy Birthday to Ivan Sutherland, recipient of the 1988 #ACMTuringAward for his pioneering and visionary contributions to computer graphics, starting with Sketchpad, a groundbreaking interactive computer-aided design system, and continuing thereafter: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/sutherland_3467412.cfm

#OTD in 1930, 1972 #ACMTuringAward recipient Edsger Dijkstra was born. He received the award for elevating programming to a rigorous, intellectual discipline, arguing programs should be built correctly, not debugged into correctness. For more: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/dijkstra_1053701.cfm

#OTD in 1930, 1972 #ACMTuringAward recipient Edsger Dijkstra was born. He received the award for elevating programming to a rigorous, intellectual discipline, arguing programs should be built correctly, not debugged into correctness. For more: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/dijkstra_1053701.cfm

Happy birthday, Patrick Hanrahan! Hanrahan received the #ACMTuringAward in 2019 for fundamental contributions to 3D computer graphics, and the impact of computer-generated imagery (CGI) in filmmaking and other applications. Read more about Hanrahan: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/hanrahan_4652251.cfm

Happy birthday, Patrick Hanrahan! Hanrahan received the #ACMTuringAward in 2019 for fundamental contributions to 3D computer graphics, and the impact of computer-generated imagery (CGI) in filmmaking and other applications. Read more about Hanrahan: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/hanrahan_4652251.cfm

Happy birthday, Ron Rivest! Ron Rivest, Leonard M. Adleman, and Adi Shamir received the 2002 #ACMTuringAward for their ingenious contribution to making public-key cryptography useful in practice with the RSA public key cryptosystem. Rivest discusses RSA: https://youtu.be/p1I1LC1DpeA?si=dsdo2_tktl48HJ7o

Happy birthday, Ron Rivest! Ron Rivest, Leonard M. Adleman, and Adi Shamir received the 2002 #ACMTuringAward for their ingenious contribution to making public-key cryptography useful in practice with the RSA public key cryptosystem. Rivest discusses RSA: https://youtu.be/p1I1LC1DpeA?si=dsdo2_tktl48HJ7o

Happy birthday, Robert E. Tarjan! With John E. Hopcroft, Tarjan received the 1986 #ACMTuringAward for fundamental achievements in the design and analysis of algorithms and data structures. His work laid the foundation for efficient problem-solving, influencing generations of researchers in computer science. Visit Tarjan’s ACM profile, here: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/tarjan_1092048.cfm

Happy birthday, Robert E. Tarjan! With John E. Hopcroft, Tarjan received the 1986 #ACMTuringAward for fundamental achievements in the design and analysis of algorithms and data structures. His work laid the foundation for efficient problem-solving, influencing generations of researchers in computer science. Visit Tarjan’s ACM profile, here: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/tarjan_1092048.cfm

Happy birthday to #ACMTuringAward recipient Manuel Blum! Blum received the 1995 ACM Turing Award for his contributions to the foundations of computational complexity theory and its applications to cryptography and program checking.

In this video, Blum explains his counterintuitive thesis result known as the “speedup theorem”: https://youtu.be/jxpg9oub6ek?si=1dhocyvDdXfxbhD-

Happy birthday to #ACMTuringAward recipient Manuel Blum! Blum received the 1995 ACM Turing Award for his contributions to the foundations of computational complexity theory and its applications to cryptography and program checking.

In this video, Blum explains his counterintuitive thesis result known as the “speedup theorem”: https://youtu.be/jxpg9oub6ek?si=1dhocyvDdXfxbhD-

On this day in 1941, Amir Pnueli was born. He received the 1996 #ACMTuringAward for seminal work introducing temporal logic into computing science and for outstanding contributions to program and system verification: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/pnueli_4725172.cfm

On this day in 1941, Amir Pnueli was born. He received the 1996 #ACMTuringAward for seminal work introducing temporal logic into computing science and for outstanding contributions to program and system verification: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/pnueli_4725172.cfm

On this day in 1931, #ACMTuringAward recipient Frederick Brooks, who was born. Brooks received the 1999 #ACMTuringAward for landmark contributions to computer architecture, operating systems, and software engineering.

Brooks discusses his experiences as a Harvard graduate student with Howard Aiken and fellow Turing awardee Ken Iverson: https://youtu.be/LaRN7LQkwE8?si=StGDMT0kKmWo4s5R

On this day in 1931, #ACMTuringAward recipient Frederick Brooks, who was born. Brooks received the 1999 #ACMTuringAward for landmark contributions to computer architecture, operating systems, and software engineering.

Brooks discusses his experiences as a Harvard graduate student with Howard Aiken and fellow Turing awardee Ken Iverson: https://youtu.be/LaRN7LQkwE8?si=StGDMT0kKmWo4s5R

”They were there since before quantum computing was even a field.“ --Scott Aaronson. Check out Ben Brubaker's Quanta piece on the story behind the accomplishments of the 2026 ACM Turing Laureates Gilles Brassard and Charles Bennett. https://www.quantamagazine.org/quantum-cryptography-pioneers-win-turing-award-20260318/ #ACMTuringAward

”They were there since before quantum computing was even a field.“ --Scott Aaronson. Check out Ben Brubaker's Quanta piece on the story behind the accomplishments of the 2026 ACM Turing Laureates Gilles Brassard and Charles Bennett. https://www.quantamagazine.org/quantum-cryptography-pioneers-win-turing-award-20260318/ #ACMTuringAward

#OTD in 1922, the first #ACMTuringAward recipient, Alan Perlis was born. Perlis received the award in 1966 for his influence in the area of advanced programming techniques and compiler construction. We owe much to Perlis for helping to mold the nascent field of Computer Science into an academic discipline. Read more about his career: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/perlis_0132439.cfm #computerscience

#OTD in 1922, the first #ACMTuringAward recipient, Alan Perlis was born. Perlis received the award in 1966 for his influence in the area of advanced programming techniques and compiler construction. We owe much to Perlis for helping to mold the nascent field of Computer Science into an academic discipline. Read more about his career: https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/perlis_0132439.cfm #computerscience