Edward McCluskey
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Edward Joseph McCluskey (October 16, 1929 – February 13, 2016) was a professor at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. He was a pioneer in the field of
Electrical Engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
.


Biography

McCluskey was born Oct 16, 1929, in New York City. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1953 and earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from
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 ...
in 1956. McCluskey worked on electronic switching systems at the
Bell Telephone Laboratories Nokia Bell Labs, commonly referred to as ''Bell Labs'', is an American industrial research and development company owned by Finnish technology company Nokia. With headquarters located in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Murray Hill, New Jersey, the compa ...
from 1955 to 1959. In 1959, he moved to
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
, where he was Professor of Electrical Engineering and Director of the University Computer Center. In 1966, he joined
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, where he was Emeritus Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, as well as Director of the Center for Reliable Computing. He founded the Stanford Digital Systems Laboratory (now the Computer Systems Laboratory) in 1969 and the Stanford Computer Engineering Program (now the Computer Science MS Degree Program) in 1970. The Stanford Computer Forum (an Industrial Affiliates Program) was started by McCluskey and two colleagues in 1970 and he was its Director until 1978. Professor McCluskey led the Reliability and Testing Symposium (RATS). McCluskey served as the first President of the
IEEE Computer Society IEEE Computer Society (commonly known as the Computer Society or CS) is a technical society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) dedicated to computing, namely the major areas of hardware, software, standards and people ...
. He died on February 13, 2016. He was known for his disarming wit and occasional eccentric habits, like his hat collection.


Focus of research

McCluskey developed the first algorithm for designing combinational circuits – the Quine–McCluskey logic minimization procedure – as a doctoral student at
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 ...
. His 1956 thesis, supervised by Samuel H. Caldwell, was entitled ''Algebraic Minimization and the Design of Two-Terminal Contact Networks''. At Bell Labs and Princeton, he developed the modern theory of transients (
hazard A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would potentially allow them to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probability of that ...
s) in logic networks and formulated the concept of operating modes of
sequential circuit In automata theory, sequential logic is a type of logic circuit whose output depends on the present value of its input signals and on the sequence of past inputs, the input history. This is in contrast to '' combinational logic'', whose output i ...
s. He collaborated with
Signetics Signetics Corporation was an American electronics manufacturer specifically established to make integrated circuits. Founded in 1961, they went on to develop a number of early microprocessors and support chips, as well as the widely used 555 time ...
researchers in developing one of the first practical
multivalued logic Many-valued logic (also multi- or multiple-valued logic) is a propositional calculus in which there are more than two truth values. Traditionally, in Aristotle's logical calculus, there were only two possible values (i.e., "true" and "false") for ...
implementations and then worked out a design technique for such circuitry. His Stanford research focuses on logic testing,
synthesis Synthesis or synthesize may refer to: Science Chemistry and biochemistry *Chemical synthesis, the execution of chemical reactions to form a more complex molecule from chemical precursors **Organic synthesis, the chemical synthesis of organi ...
,
design for testability Design for testing or design for testability (DFT) consists of integrated circuit design techniques that add testability features to a hardware product design. The added features make it easier to develop and apply manufacturing tests to the desig ...
, and
fault-tolerant computing Fault tolerance is the ability of a system to maintain proper operation despite failures or faults in one or more of its components. This capability is essential for high-availability, mission-critical, or even life-critical systems. Fault to ...
. Professor McCluskey and his students at the Center for Reliable Computing worked out many key ideas for fault equivalence, probabilistic modeling of logic networks, pseudo-exhaustive testing, and watchdog processors.


Academic descendants

He proudly claimed his students as his main product. He had mentored over 70 PhD students and has an expanding family of academic 'grandchildren'. His direct students include
Jacob A. Abraham Jacob A. Abraham is an American computer scientist and engineer who is a professor emeritus and currently the Cockrell Family Regents Chair in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a Fell ...
,
Daniel Siewiorek Daniel P. Siewiorek is an American computer engineer and computer scientist, currently the Buhl University Professor Emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. His research focuses on elect ...
,
Nur Touba Nur or NUR may refer to: In Islam * An-Nur, one of the names of God in Islam, meaning "The Light". * An-Nur (The Light), the 24th chapter of the Qur'an * Nūr (Islam), a concept, literally meaning "light" * ''Risale-i Nur Collection'', a collect ...
,
Subhasish Mitra Subhasish Mitra is an American Computer Science and Electrical Engineering professor at Stanford University. He directs the Stanford Robust Systems Group, leads the Computation Focus Area of the Stanford SystemX Alliance, and is a member of the Wu ...
,
Mehdi Tahoori Mehdi () is a common Arabic masculine given name, meaning "rightly guided". People with the name Mehdi generally originate from Iran, with other notable countries of origin being India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Azerbaijan, France, Mo ...
,
Jacob Savir Jacob Savir is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and an IEEE Fellow. He is credited with developing two approaches to detecting Transition Faults (a type of Fault model ...
, and
Ken Wagner Kenneth Robert Wagner (July 10, 1947 – March 9, 2023) was an American football coach. He was the head football coach at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its coun ...
; his academic 'grandchildren' include
Prithviraj Banerjee Prithviraj "Prith" Banerjee (born 1960) is an Indian American academic and computer scientist and is currently the Chief Technology Officer at ANSYS and board member at Cray and CUBIC. Previously, he was a Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry w ...
,
Wesley Kent Fuchs Wesley Kent Fuchs (; born 1954) is an American electrical engineer. He served as the 12th president of the University of Florida from 2015 to 2023 and as the provost of Cornell University from 2009 to 2014. In January 2022, Fuchs announced that ...
, and
Mario Barbacci Mario (; ) is a character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Nintendo. M ...
.


Awards and honors

McCluskey is the recipient of the 1996 IEEE Emanuel R. Piore Award "for pioneering and fundamental contributions to design automation and fault tolerant computing." He is also the recipient of the 2012
IEEE John von Neumann Medal The IEEE John von Neumann Medal was established by the IEEE Board of Directors in 1990 and may be presented annually "for outstanding achievements in computer-related science and technology." The achievements may be theoretical, technological, or ...
, "for fundamental contributions that shaped the design and testing of digital systems." McCluskey received the 2008
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. ...
from the IEEE Computer Society "for seminal contributions to the design and synthesis of digital systems over five decades, including the first algorithm for logic synthesis (the Quine–McCluskey method);" he also earned the 1991 Taylor Booth Award for "outstanding service as a computer science & engineering educator and for inspiring students and educators alike through his prolific contribution as a teacher, author, curriculum developer & graduate research supervisor." The IEEE Computer Society named its Technical Achievement Award in honor of McCluskey: The Edward J. McCluskey Technical Achievement Award. He was a
Fellow 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 society, learned or professional society, p ...
of the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE has a corporate office ...
(IEEE), the
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
(AAAS), and the
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); and an elected member of the
National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...
(NAE) (1998). He received honorary doctorates from 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 ...
and
Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...
. He was honored at a special session of 2008 ACM/
SIGDA SIGDA, Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Design Automation, is a professional development organization for the electronic design automation (EDA) community. SIGDA is organized and operated exclusively for educationa ...
San Jose, California on November 10–13, 2008, where tributes were shared by distinguished researchers Robert K. Brayton,
Bernard Courtois Bernard Courtois (), also spelled Barnard Courtois, (8 February 1777 – 27 September 1838) was a French chemist credited with first isolating iodine, making early photography possible. By 1811 the Napoleonic Wars had made the government-contro ...
, Giovanni De Micheli, Ravishankar K. Iyer, Daniel P. Siewiorek, Tom Williams and
Yervant Zorian Yervant Zorian is an American electrical engineer known for his work on Integrated circuit testing. He is an IEEE Fellow for contributions to built-in self-test of complex devices and systems since 1999. Zorian won the 2005 Hans Karlsson Award and ...
. Tributes to Prof. Edward J. McCluskey, Video Recording, 2008 ACM/SIGDA Dinner and Open Member Meeting, November 10-13, 2008
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References


Further reading



{{DEFAULTSORT:McCluskey, Edward J. Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the IEEE Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering 2016 deaths 1929 births Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni 1994 fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery