Daniel Jackson (born 1963) is a professor 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, ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT). He is the principal designer of the

Alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which in most cases at least one is a metal, metallic element, although it is also sometimes used for mixtures of elements; herein only metallic alloys are described. Metallic alloys often have prop ...

modelling language, and author of the books ''Software Abstractions: Logic, Language, and Analysis'' and ''The Essence of Software''. He leads the Software Design Group at MIT's

Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) is a research institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) formed by the 2003 merger of the Laboratory for Computer Science (LCS) and the Artificial Intelligence Lab ...

Biography

Jackson was born in London, England, in 1963. He studied

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, receiving an MA in 1984. After completing his MA, Jackson worked for two years as a software engineer at

Logica Logica plc was a Multinational corporation, multinational information technology, IT and Management consulting, management consultancy company headquartered in London and later Reading, Berkshire, Reading, United Kingdom. Founded in 1969, the c ...

UK Ltd. He then returned to academia to study computer science at MIT, where he received an SM in 1988, and a PhD in 1992. Following the completion of his doctorate Jackson took up a position as an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

, which he held until 1997. He has been on the faculty of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT since 1997. In 2017 he became a

Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

. In the same year, he was awarded the

ACM SIGSOFT The Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Software Engineering provides a forum for computing professionals from industry, government and academia to examine principles, practices, and new research results in software ...

Outstanding Research Award. Jackson is also a photographer, and has an interest in the

straight photography Pure photography or straight photography refers to photography that attempts to depict a scene or subject in sharp focus and detail, in accordance with the qualities that distinguish photography from other visual media, particularly painting. Orig ...

style. The

MIT Museum The MIT Museum, founded in 1971, is part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It hosts collections of holography, technology-related artworks, artificial intelligence, architecture, robotics, maritime history, ...

commissioned a series of photographs of

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

laboratories from him, displayed from May to December 2012, to accompany an exhibit of images by

Berenice Abbott Berenice Alice Abbott (July 17, 1898 – December 9, 1991) was an American photographer best known for her portraits of cultural figures of the interwar period, New York City photographs of architecture and urban design of the 1930s, and science ...

. Jackson is the son of software engineering researcher Michael A. Jackson, developer of

Jackson Structured Programming Jackson structured programming (JSP) is a method for structured programming developed by British software consultant Michael A. Jackson (computer scientist), Michael A. Jackson and was described in his 1975 book ''Principles of Program Design''.. ...

(JSP), Jackson System Development (JSD), and the Problem Frames Approach.

Research

Jackson's research is broadly concerned with improving the dependability of software. He is a proponent of lightweight formal methods. Jackson and his students developed the

language and its associated Alloy Analyzer analysis tool to provide support for lightweight specification and modelling efforts. Between 2004 and 2007, Jackson chaired a multi-year

United States National Research Council The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), also known as the National Academies, is a congressionally chartered organization that serves as the collective scientific national academy of the United States. The name i ...

study on dependable systems.

Selected publications

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References

External links

Daniel Jackson MIT home page
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Daniel 1963 births Living people Photographers from London Alumni of the University of Oxford British computer programmers British expatriate academics in the United States MIT School of Engineering alumni Carnegie Mellon University faculty MIT School of Engineering faculty English computer scientists Formal methods people Software engineering researchers Computer science writers 20th-century British photographers 21st-century British photographers