Friedrich Ludwig "Fritz" Bauer (10 June 1924 – 26 March 2015) was a German pioneer of

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

and professor at the

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Established in 1868 by King Ludwig II ...

Life

Bauer earned his

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

in 1942 and served in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

during World War II, from 1943 to 1945. From 1946 to 1950, he studied mathematics and

theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict List of natural phenomena, natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental p ...

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Bauer received his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(Ph.D.) under the supervision of

Fritz Bopp Friedrich Arnold "Fritz" Bopp (27 December 1909 – 14 November 1987) was a German theoretical physicist who contributed to nuclear physics and quantum field theory. He worked at the '' Kaiser-Wilhelm Institut für Physik'' and with the ''Uranver ...

for his thesis ''Gruppentheoretische Untersuchungen zur Theorie der Spinwellengleichungen'' ("Group-theoretic investigations of the theory of spin wave equations") in 1952. He completed his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

thesis ''Über quadratisch konvergente Iterationsverfahren zur Lösung von algebraischen Gleichungen und Eigenwertproblemen'' ("On quadratically convergent iteration methods for solving algebraic equations and eigenvalue problems") in 1954 at the

. After teaching as a ''

privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualifi ...

'' at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

from 1954 to 1958, he became extraordinary professor for applied mathematics at the

University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz () is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany. It has been named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. it had approximately 32,000 students enrolled in around 100 a ...

. Since 1963, he worked as a professor of mathematics and (since 1972) computer science at the Technical University of Munich. He retired in 1989.

Work

Bauer's early work involved constructing computing machinery (e.g. the logical relay computer STANISLAUS from 1951–1955). In this context, he was the first to propose the widely used stack method of expression evaluation. Bauer was a member of the committees that developed the imperative computer

programming language A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Programming languages are described in terms of their Syntax (programming languages), syntax (form) and semantics (computer science), semantics (meaning), usually def ...

ALGOL 58 ALGOL 58, originally named IAL, is a member of the ALGOL family of computer programming languages. It was an early compromise design soon superseded by ALGOL 60. According to John Backus: The Zurich ACM-GAMM Conference had two principal motives ...

, and its successor

ALGOL 60 ALGOL 60 (short for ''Algorithmic Language 1960'') is a member of the ALGOL family of computer programming languages. It followed on from ALGOL 58 which had introduced code blocks and the begin and end pairs for delimiting them, representing a ...

, important predecessors to all modern imperative programming languages. For ALGOL 58, Bauer was with the German ''

Gesellschaft für Angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik Gesellschaft für Angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik ("Society of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics"), often referred to by the acronym GAMM, is a German society for the promotion of science, founded in 1922 by the physicist Ludwig Prandtl and the ...

'' (GAMM, Society of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics) which worked with the American ''

Association for Computing Machinery The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is a US-based international learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 and is the world's largest scientific and educational computing society. The ACM is a non-profit professional membe ...

'' (ACM). For ALGOL 60, Bauer was with the

International Federation for Information Processing The International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) is a global organisation for researchers and professionals working in the field of computing to conduct research, develop standards and promote information sharing. Established in 19 ...

(IFIP) IFIP Working Group 2.1 on Algorithmic Languages and Calculi, which specified, maintains, and supports the languages ALGOL 60 and

ALGOL 68 ALGOL 68 (short for ''Algorithmic Language 1968'') is an imperative programming language member of the ALGOL family that was conceived as a successor to the ALGOL 60 language, designed with the goal of a much wider scope of application and ...

. Bauer was an influential figure in establishing

as an independent subject in German universities, which until then was usually considered part of

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

. In 1967, he held the first lecture in computer science at a German university at the

, titled ''Information Processing''. By 1972, computer science had become an independent academic discipline at the TUM. In 1992, it was separated from the

Department of Mathematics Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

to form an independent Department of Informatics, though Bauer had retired from his chair in 1989. In 1968, he coined the term ''

software engineering Software engineering is a branch of both computer science and engineering focused on designing, developing, testing, and maintaining Application software, software applications. It involves applying engineering design process, engineering principl ...

'' which has been in widespread use since, and has become a discipline in computer science. His scientific contributions spread from

numerical analysis Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation (as opposed to symbolic computation, symbolic manipulations) for the problems of mathematical analysis (as distinguished from discrete mathematics). It is the study of ...

(

Bauer–Fike theorem In mathematics, the Bauer–Fike theorem is a standard result in the perturbation theory of the eigenvalue of a complex-valued diagonalizable matrix. In its substance, it states an absolute upper bound for the deviation of one perturbed matrix eige ...

) and fundamentals of interpretation and translation of programming languages, to his later works on systematics of program development, especially

program transformation A program transformation is any operation that takes a computer program and generates another program. In many cases the transformed program is required to be semantically equivalent to the original, relative to a particular Formal semantics of p ...

methods and systems (CIP-S) and the associated wide-spectrum language system CIP-L. He also wrote a well-respected book on

cryptology Cryptography, or cryptology (from "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or ''-logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adversarial behavior. More gener ...

, ''Decrypted secrets'', now in its fourth edition. He was the

doctoral advisor A doctoral advisor (also dissertation director, dissertation advisor; or doctoral supervisor) is a member of a university faculty whose role is to guide graduate students who are candidates for a doctorate, helping them select coursework, as well ...

of 39 students, including

Rudolf Berghammer Rudolf Berghammer (born 1952 in Oberndorf, Germany) is a German mathematician who works in computer science. Life Rudolf Berghammer worked as an electrician at the Farbwerke Hoechst, Kelheim, from 1966 until 1970. He began studying Mathematics ...

, Manfred Broy,

David Gries David Gries (born April 26, 1939) is an American computer scientist at Cornell University, mainly known for his books ''The Science of Programming'' (1981) and ''A Logical Approach to Discrete Math'' (1993, with Fred B. Schneider). He was asso ...

, Manfred Paul, Gerhard Seegmüller,

Josef Stoer Josef Stoer (born 21 June 1934) is a German mathematician specializing in numerical analysis and professor emeritus of the Institut für Mathematik of Universität Würzburg. Stoer was born in Meschede, and earned his Ph.D. in 1961 at Johanne ...

, Peter Wynn, and

Christoph Zenger Christoph Zenger (born 10 August 1940) is a German mathematician. Career Born in Lindau, Zenger studied physics at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and did a doctorate in mathematics (theory of normed vector spaces) in 1967. In 1973 ...

. Friedrich Bauer was one of the 19 founding members of the

German Informatics Society The German Informatics Society (GI) () is a German professional society for computer science, with around 20,000 personal and 250 corporate members. It is the biggest organized representation of its kind in the German-speaking world. History The G ...

. He was editor of the Informatik Spektrum from its founding in 1978, and held that position until his death. Friedrich Bauer was married to Hildegard Bauer-Vogg. He was the father of three sons and two daughters.

Definition of software engineering

Bauer was a colleague of the German Representative the NATO Science Committee. In 1967, NATO had been discussing 'The Software Crisis' and Bauer had suggested the term 'Software Engineering' as a way to conceive of both the problem and the solution. In 1972, Bauer published the following definition of software engineering: "Establishment and use of sound engineering principles to economically obtain software that is reliable and works on real machines efficiently."

Legacy

Since 1992, the

has awarded the in computer science. In 2014, the Technical University of Munich renamed their largest

lecture hall A lecture hall or lecture theatre is a large room used for lectures, typically at a college or university. Unlike flexible lecture rooms and classrooms with capacities normally below one hundred, the capacity of lecture halls can sometimes be m ...

in the Department of Informatics building after him.

Awards

* 1944:

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

2nd Class * 1968: Member of the

Bavarian Academy of Sciences The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities () is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject. The general goal of th ...

in mathematics and science class * 1971:

Bavarian Order of Merit The Bavarian Order of Merit () is the Order of Merit of the Free State of Bavaria. It is awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria as a "recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria and the Bavarian people". The or ...

* 1978:

Wilhelm Exner Medal The Wilhelm Exner Medal has been awarded by the Austrian Industry Association, (ÖGV), for excellence in research and science since 1921. The medal is dedicated to Wilhelm Exner (1840–1931), former president of the Association, who initialize ...

(Austria). * 1982: Federal Merit Cross 1st Class * 1984: Member of the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...

* 1986:

Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art The Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art () was first established on 28 November 1853 by King Maximilian II von Bayern. It is awarded to acknowledge and reward excellent and outstanding achievements in the field of science and art. From ...

* 1987: Honorary Member of the Society for computer science * 1988: Golden Ring of Honour of the German Museum * 1988:

IEEE Computer Pioneer Award The Computer Pioneer Award was established in 1981 by the Board of Governors of the IEEE Computer Society to recognize and honor the vision of those people whose efforts resulted in the creation and continued vitality of the computer industry. ...

* 1997: Heinz-Maier-Leibnitz Medal from the

* 1998: corresponding member of the

Austrian Academy of Sciences The Austrian Academy of Sciences (; ÖAW) is a legal entity under the special protection of the Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every fi ...

* 2002: Honorary Member of the

Deutsches Museum The Deutsches Museum (''German Museum'', officially (English: ''German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology'')) in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science museum, science and technology museum, technology, with a ...

* 2004: Silver Medal of Merit of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences

Honorary doctorates

* 1974: Honorary Doctor of the

University of Grenoble The (, ''Grenoble Alps University'', abbr. UGA) is a Grands établissements, ''grand établissement'' in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 researchers. Es ...

* 1989: Honorary Doctor of the

University of Passau The University of Passau (''Universität Passau'' in German) is a public research university located in Passau, Lower Bavaria, Germany. Founded in 1973, it is the youngest university in Bavaria and consequently has the most modern campus in the ...

* 1998: Honorary doctorate from the

Bundeswehr University Munich image:Eingangsbereich der Universität der Bundeswehr München.jpg, Entrance to the university University of the Bundeswehr Munich (, UniBw München) is one of two research universities in Germany at federal level that both were founded in 1973 a ...

(Neubiberg)

Publications

* , a very influential paper on compilers * * * *

References

External links

Oral history interview with Friedrich L. Bauer

Charles Babbage Institute The IT History Society (ITHS) is an organization that supports the history and scholarship of information technology by encouraging, fostering, and facilitating archival and historical research. Formerly known as the Charles Babbage Foundation, ...

, University of Minnesota. Bauer discusses his education and early research, including the European side of the development of

ALGOL ALGOL (; short for "Algorithmic Language") is a family of imperative computer programming languages originally developed in 1958. ALGOL heavily influenced many other languages and was the standard method for algorithm description used by the ...

, as well as his later work in numerical analysis and programming languages.
Photograph of Friedrich L. Bauer
(provided by

Brian Randell Brian Randell (born 1936) is a British computer scientist, and emeritus professor at the School of Computing, Newcastle University, United Kingdom. He specialises in research into software fault tolerance and dependability, and is a noted ...

)
Bauer about Rutishauser at a symposium at the ETH Zürich in 2002
*
Author profile
in the database

zbMATH zbMATH Open, formerly Zentralblatt MATH, is a major reviewing service providing reviews and abstracts for articles in pure and applied mathematics, produced by the Berlin office of FIZ Karlsruhe – Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastru ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bauer, Friedrich L. 1924 births 2015 deaths German computer scientists 20th-century German mathematicians German historians of mathematics Scientists from Regensburg Programming language designers Software engineering researchers Computer science educators Academic staff of the Technical University of Munich Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 21st-century German mathematicians Members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences German military personnel of World War II