You may not have heard of Barbara Liskov before, but it is likely that you have benefitted from her work. For example, the modern object oriented programming languages are based on Barbara’s work in the field of computer science.
Barbara Liskov was born in 1939. She worked on artificial intelligence research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before joining the faculty at Stanford University. Here she also served as the director of the Computer Science Laboratory for two years. She later joined as the Professor of Computer Science at MIT, serving as the department head from 1985 to 1989.
Barbara Liskov: A Timeline
She received her PhD from Stanford University in 1963, making her the first woman to do so in computer science. In 1968, she joined the MIT faculty. In 1987, she published a paper entitled Data Abstraction and Hierarchy, widely considered as one of the most important papers ever written in computer science.
How Did She Get into Computing?
During her time at Brandeis, she became interested in computing after taking a class on the topic. After graduation, she went on to earn her PhD in computer science. Dr Liskov is best known for her work on data abstraction and programming languages. She has also done significant work on distributed programs, fault-tolerant systems, and computer architecture.
Contributions to the Field of Programming Languages
Barbara Liskov made significant contributions to the fields of programming languages and system design. She is best known for her work that led to the development of the Liskov substitution principle. This principle is now a fundamental part of object-oriented programming languages, i.e. Thor, which is a database system, developed using object-oriented programming language.
In addition to her data abstraction work, Liskov has contributed to the field of concurrent programming. She received numerous awards, including the A.M. Turing Award which is regarded as the highest honor in computer science.
More Notable Accomplishments of Barbara Liskov
- In 1963, she became the first woman in the United States to earn a PhD in computer science.
- She has held positions at MIT, Xerox PARC, Avaya Labs and is currently a Ford Professor of Engineering at MIT.
- Liskov was a co-designer of the CLU programming language and made significant contributions to the design of object-oriented programming languages.
- In 1987, she was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering, and in 1994 she became an ACM Fellow.
- In 1987, she became the first woman to be awarded the Draper Prize for her outstanding contributions to computer science.
- The Association for Computing Machinery also granted her its 2007 Distinguished Service Award for her contributions to distributed computing and shared memory, her inspirational leadership in developing programming systems that have transformed software engineering, and her inspiring example as a role model.
- She led some important projects, such as the Venus operating system, Argus, Thor, and more.
- Her work influenced programmers such as Bertrand Meyer, Grady Booch, James Gosling, Maurice Wilkes and David Wheeler.
In addition to her work in computer science, Liskov has also been a leader in promoting women in science and engineering. She is currently a professor at MIT and continues to make essential contributions to the field of computer science.
