Samson Abramsky (born 12 March 1953) is Professor of Computer Science at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

. He was previously the Christopher Strachey Professor of Computing at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, from 2000 to 2021. He has made contributions to the areas of

domain theory Domain theory is a branch of mathematics that studies special kinds of partially ordered sets (posets) commonly called domains. Consequently, domain theory can be considered as a branch of order theory. The field has major applications in computer ...

, the lazy

lambda calculus Lambda calculus (also written as ''λ''-calculus) is a formal system in mathematical logic for expressing computation based on function abstraction and application using variable binding and substitution. It is a universal model of computation th ...

strictness analysis In computer science, strictness analysis refers to any algorithm used to prove that a function in a non-strict functional programming language is strict in one or more of its arguments. This information is useful to compilers because strict functi ...

concurrency theory In computer science, concurrency is the ability of different parts or units of a program, algorithm, or problem to be executed out-of-order or in partial order, without affecting the outcome. This allows for parallel execution of the concur ...

, interaction categories, geometry of interaction,

game semantics Game semantics (german: dialogische Logik, translated as '' dialogical logic'') is an approach to formal semantics that grounds the concepts of truth or validity on game-theoretic concepts, such as the existence of a winning strategy for a player ...

and

quantum computing Quantum computing is a type of computation whose operations can harness the phenomena of quantum mechanics, such as superposition, interference, and entanglement. Devices that perform quantum computations are known as quantum computers. Though ...

. More recently, he has been applying methods from categorical semantics to

finite model theory Finite model theory is a subarea of model theory. Model theory is the branch of logic which deals with the relation between a formal language (syntax) and its interpretations (semantics). Finite model theory is a restriction of model theory to in ...

, with applications to

descriptive complexity ''Descriptive Complexity'' is a book in mathematical logic and computational complexity theory by Neil Immerman. It concerns descriptive complexity theory, an area in which the expressibility of mathematical properties using different types of log ...

Education

Abramsky was educated at Hasmonean Grammar School for Boys,

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Gre ...

and at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

(BA 1975, MA Philosophy 1979, Diploma in Computer Science) and

Queen Mary, University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

(PhD Computer Science 1988, supervised by Richard Bornat).

Career and research

Since 2021, Abramsky is Professor of Computer Science at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

. He has been a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

since 2004. His research includes the development of

in logical form, and

categorical quantum mechanics Categorical quantum mechanics is the study of quantum foundations and quantum information using paradigms from mathematics and computer science, notably monoidal category theory. The primitive objects of study are physical processes, and the diff ...

. His earlier positions include: * Programmer, GEC Computers Limited, 1976–1978 * Lecturer, Department of Computer Science and Statistics, QMUL, 1980–1983 * Lecturer, 1983–1988, reader, 1988–1990, professor, 1990–1995, Department of Computing,

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

* Professor of Theoretical Computer Science,

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 158 ...

, 1996–2000 * Christopher Strachey Professor of Computing,

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, 2000-2021 Abramsky has played a leading role in the development of

, and its applications to the

semantics of programming languages In programming language theory, semantics is the rigorous mathematical study of the meaning of programming languages. Semantics assigns computational meaning to valid strings in a programming language syntax. Semantics describes the processes ...

. Other notable contributions include his work on

in logical form, the lazy

, interaction categories, and geometry of interaction. He has recently been working on high-level methods for

quantum computation Quantum computing is a type of computation whose operations can harness the phenomena of quantum mechanics, such as superposition, interference, and entanglement. Devices that perform quantum computations are known as quantum computers. Though ...

and information.

Selected publications

Samson Abramsky co-edited 6 Volumes ''Handbook of Logic in Computer Science'' with Dov Gabbay and

Tom Maibaum Thomas Stephen Edward Maibaum Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) is a computer scientist. Maibaum has a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) undergraduate degree in pure mathematics from the University of Toronto, Canada (1970), and a Doctor of Phi ...

. * 1992. ''Volume 1: Background: Mathematical Structures''. * 1992. ''Volume 2: Background: Computational Structures''. * 1995. ''Volume 3: Semantic Structures''. * 1995. ''Volume 4: Semantic Modelling''. * 2001. ''Volume 5: Logic and Algebraic Methods''. * ''Volume 6: Logical methods in computer science''. Samson Abramsky has published over two hundred publications and his

h-index The ''h''-index is an author-level metric that measures both the productivity and citation impact of the publications, initially used for an individual scientist or scholar. The ''h''-index correlates with obvious success indicators such as w ...

was 57 as of October 2019. * 1986. ''Strictness analysis for higher-order functions''. (with GL Burn, C Hankin). Science of Computer Programming. * 1990. ''The Lazy

Lambda Calculus Lambda calculus (also written as ''λ''-calculus) is a formal system in mathematical logic for expressing computation based on function abstraction and application using variable binding and substitution. It is a universal model of computation th ...

''. Research Topics in Functional Programming. * 1993. ''Computational Interpretations of Linear logic''. in Theoretical Computer Science 111 * 1994. ''

Domain Theory Domain theory is a branch of mathematics that studies special kinds of partially ordered sets (posets) commonly called domains. Consequently, domain theory can be considered as a branch of order theory. The field has major applications in computer ...

''. (with A Jung). in Handbook of Logic in Computer Science 3. * 1996. ''Interaction categories and the foundations of typed concurrent programming''. (with S Gay and R Nagarajan). NATO ASI SERIES F COMPUTER AND SYSTEMS SCIENCES 152 * 1997. ''Specifying interaction categories''. (with D Pavlović). Category Theory and Computer Science * 2002. ''Geometry of interaction and linear combinatory algebras''. (with E Haghverdi and P Scott). Mathematical Structures in Computer Science 12 (5) * 2003. ''Sequentiality vs.

concurrency Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

in games and logic''. Mathematical Structures in Computer Science 13 (4) Some of the recent works of Samson Abramsky include: * 2013.
Robust Constraint Satisfaction and Local Hidden Variables in Quantum Mechanics
'. (with G. Gottlob and P. Kolaitis)
IJCAI
2013 * 2012. ''Logical Bell Inequalities''. (with Lucien Hardy). In Physical Review A. Vol. 85. No. ARTN 062114 * 2010. ''Introduction to categories and categorical logic''. (with N. Tzevelekos). In New Structures for Physics. Springer.

Awards and honours

Abramsky is a Fellow of the

(2004), a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(2000), and a Member of

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

(1993). He is a member of the editorial boards of the North Holland Studies in Logic and the Foundations of Mathematics, and of the Cambridge Tracts in Theoretical Computer Science. He was general chair of LiCS 2000–2003, and is a member of the LiCS Organizing Committee. * He was elected Fellow of ACM (2014) ''For contributions to domains in logical form,

, and contextual semantics.'' * He was awarded the BCS

Lovelace Medal The Lovelace Medal was established by the British Computer Society in 1998, and is presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the understanding or advancement of computing. It is the top award in computing in the UK. Award ...

in 2013 * His paper "

Domain theory Domain theory is a branch of mathematics that studies special kinds of partially ordered sets (posets) commonly called domains. Consequently, domain theory can be considered as a branch of order theory. The field has major applications in computer ...

in Logical Form" won the LiCS Test-of-Time award (a 20-year retrospective) for 1987. The award was presented at LiCS 2007. * He was awarded an

EPSRC The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is a British Research Council that provides government funding for grants to undertake research and postgraduate degrees in engineering and the physical sciences, mainly to universi ...

Senior Research Fellowship on Foundational Structures and Methods for Quantum Informatics in 2007. * Fellow of the

(2004) * Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

(2000) Abramsky's nomination for the

reads:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abramsky, Samson 1953 births Living people Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Alumni of Queen Mary University of London Fellows of Wolfson College, Oxford Members of the Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford Academics of Queen Mary University of London Academics of Imperial College London Academics of the University of Edinburgh British computer scientists 20th-century British Jews British people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Jewish scientists Formal methods people Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society Members of Academia Europaea