Jan Bergstra
Encyclopedia
Jan A. Bergstra is a Dutch
computer scientist. His work has focussed on logic and the theoretical foundations of software engineering
, especially on formal methods
for system design. He is best known as an expert on algebraic methods for the specification of data and computational processes in general.
, the son of Tjeerd Bergstra and Johanna Bisschop. He was educated at the Montessori Lyceum Rotterdam (gymnasium beta) and then studied mathematics at Utrecht University
, starting in 1969. After an MSc he wrote a PhD thesis, defended in 1976, on recursion theory in higher types, under the supervision of Dirk van Dalen
.
Bergstra held posts at the Institute of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Leiden
(1976–82), and the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in Amsterdam. In 1985 he was appointed Professor of Programming and Software Engineering at the Informatics Institute of the University of Amsterdam and, at the same time, Professor of Applied Logic at Utrecht University
; such split positions are not uncommon in the Netherlands. These two chairs he continues to hold.
He has been an Advisor of the CWI (1985–2004). In 1989 he worked for a year at Philips Research
in Eindhoven as a project leader and, subsequently, continued as a consultant there until 2002. While at Philips he was involved in industrial projects on consumer electronics and medical equipment.
He founded CONCUR, the international conference series in Concurrency Theory, by organising the first two conferences in Amsterdam in 1990 and 1991. He is a member of several editorial boards, and is the managing editor of Science of Computer Programming and the Journal of Logic and Algebraic Programming.
He is honorary Professor of Computer Science at Swansea University
and a member of Academia Europaea
.
His main theoretical research programmes are:
Based in this theoretical research, he has designed various formal methods and tools. In cooperation with Paul Klint and Jan Heering he designed the specification language ASF (in 1984) and the related ToolBus coordination language and system (in 1995). Some of his work has been undertaken in the setting of the ESPRIT programme. For example, the software projects FAST and METEOR funded the beginnings of the development of the process algebra ACP, and the telecommunications project SPECS led to the development of the specification language muCRL. All systems are still in daily use for research purposes, while ASF has been extensively used in the Dutch banking industry.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
computer scientist. His work has focussed on logic and the theoretical foundations of software engineering
Software engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
, especially on formal methods
Formal methods
In computer science and software engineering, formal methods are a particular kind of mathematically-based techniques for the specification, development and verification of software and hardware systems...
for system design. He is best known as an expert on algebraic methods for the specification of data and computational processes in general.
Biography
Jan Bergstra was born in 1951 in RotterdamRotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, the son of Tjeerd Bergstra and Johanna Bisschop. He was educated at the Montessori Lyceum Rotterdam (gymnasium beta) and then studied mathematics at Utrecht University
Utrecht University
Utrecht University is a university in Utrecht, Netherlands. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe. Established March 26, 1636, it had an enrollment of 29,082 students in 2008, and employed 8,614 faculty and staff, 570 of which are full professors....
, starting in 1969. After an MSc he wrote a PhD thesis, defended in 1976, on recursion theory in higher types, under the supervision of Dirk van Dalen
Dirk van Dalen
Dirk van Dalen is a Dutch mathematician and historian of science.Van Dalen studied mathematics and physics and astronomy at the University of Amsterdam. Inspired by the work of LEJ Brouwer and Arend Heyting, he received his Ph.D...
.
Bergstra held posts at the Institute of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Leiden
Leiden University
Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...
(1976–82), and the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in Amsterdam. In 1985 he was appointed Professor of Programming and Software Engineering at the Informatics Institute of the University of Amsterdam and, at the same time, Professor of Applied Logic at Utrecht University
Utrecht University
Utrecht University is a university in Utrecht, Netherlands. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe. Established March 26, 1636, it had an enrollment of 29,082 students in 2008, and employed 8,614 faculty and staff, 570 of which are full professors....
; such split positions are not uncommon in the Netherlands. These two chairs he continues to hold.
He has been an Advisor of the CWI (1985–2004). In 1989 he worked for a year at Philips Research
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
in Eindhoven as a project leader and, subsequently, continued as a consultant there until 2002. While at Philips he was involved in industrial projects on consumer electronics and medical equipment.
He founded CONCUR, the international conference series in Concurrency Theory, by organising the first two conferences in Amsterdam in 1990 and 1991. He is a member of several editorial boards, and is the managing editor of Science of Computer Programming and the Journal of Logic and Algebraic Programming.
He is honorary Professor of Computer Science at Swansea University
Swansea University
Swansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...
and a member of Academia Europaea
Academia Europaea
Academia Europæa is a European non-governmental scientific academy founded in 1988. Its members are scientists and scholars who collectively aim to promote learning, education and research. It publishes European Review through Cambridge Journals....
.
Work on formal methods
Jan Bergstra's research on computation has focussed on fundamental concepts, mathematical theories and practical tools.His main theoretical research programmes are:
- a systematic study of specification methods for abstract data typeAbstract data typeIn computing, an abstract data type is a mathematical model for a certain class of data structures that have similar behavior; or for certain data types of one or more programming languages that have similar semantics...
s (starting in 1979, with John V. TuckerJohn V. TuckerJohn Vivian Tucker is a British computer scientist and expert on computability theory, also known as recursion theory. Computability theory is about what can and cannot be computed by people and machines...
); - the invention, development and application of process algebras, especially ACPAlgebra of Communicating ProcessesThe Algebra of Communicating Processes is an algebraic approach to reasoning about concurrent systems. It is a member of the family of mathematical theories of concurrency known as process algebras or process calculi. ACP was initially developed by Jan Bergstra and Jan Willem Klop in 1982, as part...
(starting in 1984, with Jan Willem KlopJan Willem KlopJan Willem Klop is a professor of applied logic at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. He holds a Ph.D. in mathematical logic from Utrecht University. Klop is known for his work on the Algebra of Communicating Processes, co-author of TeReSe and his fixed point combinatorwhere- External links :*...
, Jos Baeten and others); - Module Algebra (starting in 1986, together with Paul Klint and Jan Heering);
- Program Algebra (starting in 1998, with Marijke Loots).
Based in this theoretical research, he has designed various formal methods and tools. In cooperation with Paul Klint and Jan Heering he designed the specification language ASF (in 1984) and the related ToolBus coordination language and system (in 1995). Some of his work has been undertaken in the setting of the ESPRIT programme. For example, the software projects FAST and METEOR funded the beginnings of the development of the process algebra ACP, and the telecommunications project SPECS led to the development of the specification language muCRL. All systems are still in daily use for research purposes, while ASF has been extensively used in the Dutch banking industry.
Work in academia
Through his research and organisational activities, Bergstra has had considerable influence on computer science in the Netherlands. For example, he has supervised the work of over 40 PhD students, many of whom have become academic computer scientists, 12 at professorial level. He set up the new computer science curriculum at Leiden (in 1976), and for cognitive artificial intelligence at Utrecht University (in 1989). In 2000 he became the Director of the Teaching Institute of Information Sciences at the University of Amsterdam. In this role he has been responsible for the redesign of all courses when the bachelor-master system of degrees was introduced into the Netherlands.Selected publications
The following are a few key publications:- J. A. Bergstra, A. Ponse and S. A. Smolka (editors), The Handbook of Process Algebra, ElsevierElsevierElsevier is a publishing company which publishes medical and scientific literature. It is a part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has operations in the United Kingdom, USA and elsewhere....
, 2001. - J. A. Bergstra and M. E. Loots, "Program Algebra for Component Code", Formal Aspects of ComputingFormal Aspects of ComputingFormal Aspects of Computing 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 Cliff Jones. The journal is associated with BCS-FACS, the British...
, 12(1):1–17, 2000. - J. A. Bergstra and J. V. TuckerJohn V. TuckerJohn Vivian Tucker is a British computer scientist and expert on computability theory, also known as recursion theory. Computability theory is about what can and cannot be computed by people and machines...
, "Equational specifications, complete term rewriting systems, and computable and semicomputable algebras", Journal of the ACMJournal of the ACMThe Journal of the ACM is the flagship scientific journal of the Association for Computing Machinery . It is peer-reviewed and covers computer science in general, especially theoretical aspects. Its current editor-in-chief is Victor Vianu, from University of California, San Diego.The journal has...
, 42(6):1194–1230, 1995. - J. A. Bergstra, J. Heering and P. Klint, "Module Algebra", Journal of the ACM, 37(2):335–372, 1990.
- J. A. Bergstra, J. Heering and P. Klint (editors), Algebraic Specification, Addison Wesley, 1989.
External links
- Home page
- Jan Bergstra, Alban Ponse "A Bypass of Cohen's Impossibility Result", Advances in Grid Computing - EGC 2005, LNCS 3470, pages 1097-1106. Springer-Verlag, 2005