William Wesley Peterson (April 22, 1924 – May 6, 2009) was an American mathematician and computer scientist. He was best known for designing the

cyclic redundancy check A cyclic redundancy check (CRC) is an error-detecting code commonly used in digital networks and storage devices to detect accidental changes to digital data. Blocks of data entering these systems get a short ''check value'' attached, based on ...

(CRC), – The original paper on CRCs for which research he was awarded the

Japan Prize is awarded to individuals whose original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind. As of 2024, the Japan Prize h ...

in 1999.

Biography

Peterson was born on April 22, 1924, in

Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muskegon County, Michigan, United States. Situated around a harbor of Lake Michigan, Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, and boating. It is the most populous city along Lake Michigan' ...

and earned his Ph.D. in 1954 from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. Peterson was a professor of

Information and Computer Science Computer and information science (CIS; also known as information and computer science) is a field that emphasizes ''both'' computing and informatics, upholding the strong association between the fields of information sciences and computer scienc ...

s at the

University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

, joining the faculty in 1964.The Newsletter of the Colleges of Arts & Sciences at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Summer 1999, Volume 5, Number One
Retrieved November 24, 2011 He started work at IBM in 1954. He authored the publication of algebraic coding theory ''Error Correcting Codes'' in 1961. He co-authored a number of books on the topic of

error correcting code In computing, telecommunication, information theory, and coding theory, forward error correction (FEC) or channel coding is a technique used for controlling errors in data transmission over unreliable or noisy communication channels. The centra ...

s, including the revised 2nd edition of ''Error Correcting Codes'' (co-authored with

Edward J. Weldon Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

). In the early 1950s, he contributed significantly to the development of

signal detection theory Detection theory or signal detection theory is a means to measure the ability to differentiate between information-bearing patterns (called Stimulus (psychology), stimulus in living organisms, Signal (electronics), signal in machines) and random pa ...

through participation in the IRE Professional Group on Information Theory. He has also done research and published in the fields of

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 ...

systems programming 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 t ...

, and

networks Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

. As well as the

in 1999, he was awarded the

Claude E. Shannon Award The Claude E. Shannon Award of the IEEE Information Theory Society was created to honor consistent and profound contributions to the field of information theory. Each Shannon Award winner is expected to present a Shannon Lecture at the following ...

in 1981, and the

IEEE Centennial Medal The IEEE Centennial Medal was a medal minted and awarded in 1984 ''to persons deserving of special recognition for extraordinary achievement'' to celebrate the Centennial of the founding of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (I ...

in 1984. In 2007, two years before Peterson's death,

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...

added crc32 to the SSE4.2 instruction set of the

x86-64 x86-64 (also known as x64, x86_64, AMD64, and Intel 64) is a 64-bit extension of the x86 instruction set architecture, instruction set. It was announced in 1999 and first available in the AMD Opteron family in 2003. It introduces two new ope ...

architecture. Peterson finished 16th in the 2005 Honolulu Marathon for males ages 80 to 84. He died on May 6, 2009, in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

survived by five children from two different marriages, his wife, and several grandchildren.

References

External links

Press release announcing the award of the Japan Prize
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, W. Wesley 1924 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American mathematicians 21st-century American mathematicians Detection and estimation theorists IEEE Centennial Medal laureates People from Muskegon, Michigan University of Hawaiʻi faculty University of Michigan alumni