James Gillogly
Encyclopedia
James J. Gillogly is an American
computer scientist
and cryptographer.
programming language in 1970, and in 1977 he ported the code for "Colossal Cave
" from Fortran to C
.
He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University
in 1978, receiving a Ph.D.
in computer science. His dissertation was on "Performance Analysis of the Technology Program".http://genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/html/id.phtml?id=50361
Gillogly worked as a computer scientist at RAND
, specializing in system design and development, and computer security
. He has written several articles about technology and cryptography, was the editor of the "Cipher Exchange" column for The Cryptogram
, and was president of the American Cryptogram Association
.
He is best known for his work solving or debunking some of the world's most famous unsolved codes. In 1980 he wrote a paper debunking the Beale Ciphers
, and he received international media attention for being the first person to publicly solve parts 1-3 on the CIA's Kryptos
sculpture in 1999. He also coordinates a large mailing list about the ciphers in the Voynich Manuscript
. On the PBS
website, they report that he has been called "arguably the best non-government cryptanalyst in the U.S." in the field of classical (historical) cryptosystems.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/decoding/
Gillogly's Erdős number
is three, through Emmett Keeler and Joel Spencer
. His Bacon Number is arguably two, since he was an extra in Heat (1995 film) starring Robert DeNiro, who was in Sleepers (film)
with Kevin Bacon
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
computer scientist
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
and cryptographer.
Biography
Gillogly wrote a chess-playing program in the FortranFortran
Fortran is a general-purpose, procedural, imperative programming language that is especially suited to numeric computation and scientific computing...
programming language in 1970, and in 1977 he ported the code for "Colossal Cave
Colossal Cave Adventure
Colossal Cave Adventure gave its name to the computer adventure game genre . It was originally designed by Will Crowther, a programmer and caving enthusiast who based the layout on part of the Mammoth Cave system in Kentucky...
" from Fortran to C
C (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
.
He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
in 1978, receiving a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in computer science. His dissertation was on "Performance Analysis of the Technology Program".http://genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/html/id.phtml?id=50361
Gillogly worked as a computer scientist at RAND
RAND
RAND Corporation is a nonprofit global policy think tank first formed to offer research and analysis to the United States armed forces by Douglas Aircraft Company. It is currently financed by the U.S. government and private endowment, corporations including the healthcare industry, universities...
, specializing in system design and development, and computer security
Computer security
Computer security is a branch of computer technology known as information security as applied to computers and networks. The objective of computer security includes protection of information and property from theft, corruption, or natural disaster, while allowing the information and property to...
. He has written several articles about technology and cryptography, was the editor of the "Cipher Exchange" column for The Cryptogram
American Cryptogram Association
The American Cryptogram Association is an American non-profit organization devoted to the hobby of cryptography, with an emphasis on types of codes, ciphers, and cryptograms that can be solved either with pencil and paper, or with computers, but not computer-only systems.-History:The ACA was formed...
, and was president of the American Cryptogram Association
American Cryptogram Association
The American Cryptogram Association is an American non-profit organization devoted to the hobby of cryptography, with an emphasis on types of codes, ciphers, and cryptograms that can be solved either with pencil and paper, or with computers, but not computer-only systems.-History:The ACA was formed...
.
He is best known for his work solving or debunking some of the world's most famous unsolved codes. In 1980 he wrote a paper debunking the Beale Ciphers
Beale ciphers
The Beale ciphers are a set of three ciphertexts, one of which allegedly states the location of a buried treasure of gold, silver and jewels estimated to be worth over USD$63 million as of September, 2011. The other two ciphertexts allegedly describe the content of the treasure, and list the names...
, and he received international media attention for being the first person to publicly solve parts 1-3 on the CIA's Kryptos
Kryptos
Kryptos is an encrypted sculpture by American artist Jim Sanborn located on the grounds of the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Virginia. Since its dedication on November 3, 1990, there has been much speculation about the meaning of the encrypted messages it bears...
sculpture in 1999. He also coordinates a large mailing list about the ciphers in the Voynich Manuscript
Voynich manuscript
The Voynich manuscript, described as "the world's most mysterious manuscript", is a work which dates to the early 15th century, possibly from northern Italy. It is named after the book dealer Wilfrid Voynich, who purchased it in 1912....
. On the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
website, they report that he has been called "arguably the best non-government cryptanalyst in the U.S." in the field of classical (historical) cryptosystems.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/decoding/
Gillogly's Erdős number
Erdos number
The Erdős number describes the "collaborative distance" between a person and mathematician Paul Erdős, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers.The same principle has been proposed for other eminent persons in other fields.- Overview :...
is three, through Emmett Keeler and Joel Spencer
Joel Spencer
Joel Spencer is an American mathematician. He is a combinatorialist who has worked on probabilistic methods in combinatorics and on Ramsey theory. He received his doctorate from Harvard University in 1970, under the supervision of Andrew Gleason...
. His Bacon Number is arguably two, since he was an extra in Heat (1995 film) starring Robert DeNiro, who was in Sleepers (film)
Sleepers (film)
Sleepers is a 1996 legal drama film written, produced, and directed by Barry Levinson, and based on Lorenzo Carcaterra's 1995 novel of the same name.-Plot:...
with Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....
.
Selected articles
- Articles by Gillogly at rand.org, 1970–1994
- MAX: A FORTRAN Chess Player", 1970, RAND Paper
- Exploratory modeling: search through spaces of computational experiments", 1994, RAND Reprint
- "The impact of response options and location in a microcomputer interview on drinking drivers' alcohol use self-reports", 1990, Rand Corporation, co-written with Ron D. Hay,s Robert M. Bell, Laural A. Hill, Matthew W. Lewis, Grant N. Marshall, Ronald Nicholas, Gordon Marlatt
- "The Technology Chess Program", 1972, Artificial Intelligence, Volume 3, pp. 145–163 http://www.informatik.uni-trier.de/~ley/db/journals/ai/ai3.html#Gillogly72
- Cryptograms from the Crypt
- "The Beale Cipher: A Dissenting Opinion", April 1980, Cryptologia, Volume 4, Number 2
- "Ciphertext-Only Cryptanalysis of Enigma", October 1995, Cryptologia, Volume 19, Number 4
External links
- "Solving the Enigma of Kryptos", January 21, 2005, Wired NewsWired NewsWired News is an online technology news website, formerly known as HotWired, that split off from Wired magazine when the magazine was purchased by Condé Nast Publishing in the 1990s. Wired News was owned by Lycos not long after the split, until Condé Nast purchased Wired News on July 11, 2006...
- "Cracking the Code of a CIA Sculpture", July 1999, Washington Post
- "Interest grows in solving cryptic CIA puzzle after link to Da Vinci Code", June 11, 2005, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- "Swedish team beats code to win 10,000 pounds", October 12, 2000, The Daily TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
- "Decoding Nazi Secrets", by Jim Gillogly; , November 2000, NOVA Online, PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
- "Mission Impossible: The Code Even the CIA Can't Crack", April 20, 2009, Wired Magazine