Gerald Estrin
Encyclopedia
Prof. Gerald Estrin, an IEEE Fellow
, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a member of the Board of Governors of the Weizmann Institute of Science
, Israel
. Estrin received his B.S, M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin in 1948, 1949, and 1951, respectively.
He served as research engineer in the von Neumann group at IAS
from 1950–56, this led to an invitation from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel to direct the WEIZAC
Project in 1954-5.
In the late 1950s Estrin came up with the concept of Reconfigurable computing
which allows the acceleration of computational processes by using variable configurations of specialised hardware modules in addition to a sequential processing unit. The idea was practically realised as "The Fixed Plus Variable Structure Computer" .
He served as Chairperson of the UCLA Computer Science Department from 1979 to 1982 and from 1985 to 1988. He retired in 1991, and was recalled as Professor Emeritus. He is the father of Deborah Estrin
, also a UCLA Computer Science professor, and of Judy Estrin.
IEEE Fellow
An IEEE member is elevated to the grade of IEEE Fellow for "unusual distinction in the profession and shall be conferred by the Board of Directors upon a person with an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest"...
, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a member of the Board of Governors of the Weizmann Institute of Science
Weizmann Institute of Science
The Weizmann Institute of Science , known as Machon Weizmann, is a university and research institute in Rehovot, Israel. It differs from other Israeli universities in that it offers only graduate and post-graduate studies in the sciences....
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Estrin received his B.S, M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin in 1948, 1949, and 1951, respectively.
He served as research engineer in the von Neumann group at IAS
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
from 1950–56, this led to an invitation from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel to direct the WEIZAC
WEIZAC
The WEIZAC was the first computer in Israel, and one of the first large-scale, stored-program, electronic computers in the world....
Project in 1954-5.
In the late 1950s Estrin came up with the concept of Reconfigurable computing
Reconfigurable computing
Reconfigurable computing is a computer architecture combining some of the flexibility of software with the high performance of hardware by processing with very flexible high speed computing fabrics like field-programmable gate arrays...
which allows the acceleration of computational processes by using variable configurations of specialised hardware modules in addition to a sequential processing unit. The idea was practically realised as "The Fixed Plus Variable Structure Computer" .
He served as Chairperson of the UCLA Computer Science Department from 1979 to 1982 and from 1985 to 1988. He retired in 1991, and was recalled as Professor Emeritus. He is the father of Deborah Estrin
Deborah Estrin
Deborah Estrin is a professor of Computer Science at UCLA. She is the daughter of Gerald Estrin, also a UCLA Computer Science professor, and the sister of Judy Estrin. She is a pioneer in the field of embedded network sensing and is the director of the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing at UCLA...
, also a UCLA Computer Science professor, and of Judy Estrin.