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Tim Denvir (born 1939) is a British
software engineer Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term ''p ...
, specialising in
formal methods In computer science, formal methods are mathematically rigorous techniques for the specification, development, and verification of software and hardware systems. The use of formal methods for software and hardware design is motivated by the exp ...
. Denvir studied for a Mathematics degree at
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
during 1959–1962. Before his degree, during 1958–1959, Tim Denvir was an engineering assistant at
Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globa ...
, designing, building and testing
electronic circuit An electronic circuit is composed of individual electronic components, such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected by conductive wires or traces through which electric current can flow. It is a type of electri ...
s using discrete semiconductors. After his degree, during 1962–1965, he was a
systems programmer Systems programming, or system programming, is the activity of programming computer system software. The primary distinguishing characteristic of systems programming when compared to application programming is that application programming aims to ...
with Elliott Brothers, programming
operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ef ...
s and
device driver In computing, a device driver is a computer program that operates or controls a particular type of device that is attached to a computer or automaton. A driver provides a software interface to hardware devices, enabling operating systems and o ...
s. During 1965–1969, he was a systems programmer at the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...
Atlas Computing Service, undertaking systems programming for the
Atlas computer The Atlas Computer was one of the world's first supercomputers, in use from 1962 (when it was claimed to be the most powerful computer in the world) to 1972. Atlas' capacity promoted the saying that when it went offline, half of the United Ki ...
and
compiler design In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that ...
. During 1969–1971, he was a
project manager A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined start and a defined fi ...
with RADICS, working on
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 k ...
compilers. During 1971–1972, Denvir was a principal technical officer at
International Computers Limited International Computers Limited (ICL) was a British computer hardware, computer software and computer services company that operated from 1968 until 2002. It was formed through a merger of International Computers and Tabulators (ICT), English ...
(ICL), working on unifying compiler design for the
ICL 2900 Series The ICL 2900 Series was a range of mainframe computer systems announced by the British manufacturer ICL on 9 October 1974. The company had started development under the name "New Range" immediately on its formation in 1968. The range was not de ...
of
mainframe computer A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterpris ...
s. During 1972–1986, he was a department manager and then from 1980 chief research engineer at the Standard Telecommunication Laboratories (STL), working on
project management Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. T ...
, technical education, and research. He won the STL Creativity Award. During 1986–1991, he was a senior/principal consultant at Praxis Systems plc, seconded for part of the time to the Information Technology Division of the UK Government Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). During 1991–2003, he was Director of Translimina Ltd. Academically, during 1988–1989, Denvir was an Associate Reader at
Brunel University Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June 1 ...
, teaching
formal methods In computer science, formal methods are mathematically rigorous techniques for the specification, development, and verification of software and hardware systems. The use of formal methods for software and hardware design is motivated by the exp ...
. During 1992–1994, he was Honorary Visiting Professor at City University in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, where he developed and delivered a course on denotational semantics. Denvir has been a member of the
editorial board The editorial board is a group of experts, usually at a publication, who dictate the tone and direction the publication's editorial policy will take. Mass media At a newspaper, the editorial board usually consists of the editorial page editor, ...
for the ''
Formal Aspects of Computing ''Formal Aspects of Computing'' (''FAOC'') is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Springer Science+Business Media, covering the area of formal methods and associated topics in computer science. The editors-in-chief are Jim Woodcock and ...
'' journal (1989-2003) and the
Springer Springer or springers may refer to: Publishers * Springer Science+Business Media, aka Springer International Publishing, a worldwide publishing group founded in 1842 in Germany formerly known as Springer-Verlag. ** Springer Nature, a multinationa ...
FACIT book series. He was a member of the BSI IST/51-119
Vienna Development Method The Vienna Development Method (VDM) is one of the longest-established formal methods for the development of computer-based systems. Originating in work done at the IBM Laboratory Vienna in the 1970s, it has grown to include a group of techniques ...
(VDM) Standardisation Committee. He was the Secretary of VDM Europe (1986–88 & 1991) and Chairman of the FACS Specialist Group (1993–1995). More recently he has been editor of the associated ''
FACS FACTS BCS-FACS is the BCS ''Formal Aspects of Computing Science'' Specialist Group. Overview The FACS group, inaugurated on 16 March 1978, organizes meetings for its members and others on formal methods and related computer science topics. There is a ...
''. Tim Denvir has authored/edited/translated a number of books, including: * ''The Analysis of Concurrent Systems'' (Springer, Lecture Notes in Computer Science 207, 1985, ), co-edited with W. T. Harwood, M. I. Jackson and M. J. Wray *''Introduction to Discrete Mathematics for Software Engineering'' (
Macmillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...
, Computer Science Series, 1986, ) * ''Formal Aspects of Measurement'' (Springer, Workshops in Computing, 1991, ), co-edited with Rosalind Herman and
Robin Whitty ''The Turing Guide'', written by Jack Copeland, Jonathan Bowen, Mark Sprevak, Robin Wilson, and others and published in 2017, is a book about the work and life of the British mathematician, philosopher, and early computer scientist, Alan Tur ...
* ''5th Refinement Workshop'' (Springer, Workshops in Computing, 1992, ), co-edited with Cliff B. Jones and Roger C. Shaw * ''FM'94: Industrial Benefit of Formal Methods'' (Springer,
Lecture Notes in Computer Science ''Lecture Notes in Computer Science'' is a series of computer science books published by Springer Science+Business Media since 1973. Overview The series contains proceedings, post- proceedings, monographs, and Festschrift In academia, a ''F ...
, 1994, , ), co-edited with Maurice Naftalin and Miquel Bertran * ''
Carl Adam Petri Carl Adam Petri (12 July 1926 in Leipzig – 2 July 2010 in Siegburg) was a German mathematician and computer scientist. Life and work Petri created his major scientific contribution, the concept of the Petri net, in 1939 at the age of 13, for ...
: Life and Science'' (Springer, 2015, ), by Einar Smith, translated into English by the author and Tim Denvir


Interests

Tim has been a keen hill-walker and "compleated" (in the parlance of the
Scottish Mountaineering Club Established in 1889, the Scottish Mountaineering Club is the leading club for climbing and mountaineering in Scotland. History The Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) was formed in 1889 as Scotland’s national club and the initial membership ...
) all of the 28
Munros
the Scottish hills over 3,000 feet, in 2011, becomin
Munroist number 4,855


References


External links


Tim Denvir
on
LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job s ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Denvir, Tim 1939 births Living people Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British software engineers Formal methods people International Computers Limited people Academics of Brunel University London Academics of City, University of London