Robert R. Korfhage
Encyclopedia
Robert Roy Korfhage was an American computer scientist, famous for his contributions to information retrieval
and several textbooks.
He was son of Dr. Roy Korfhage who as a chemist at Nestlé
in Fulton, Oswego County, New York
. Korfhage
got his bachelors (1952) in engineering mathematics
at University of Michigan
, while working part time at United Aircraft and Transport Corporation
in East Hartford as programmer
. At the same university, he got masters and Ph.D.
(1962) in mathematics
,
his PhD dissertation being On Systems of Distinct Representatives for Several Collections of Sets
advised by Bernard Galler
(1962).
Korfhage then joined
the faculty at North Carolina State University
(1962–64), Purdue University
(1964–70), Southern Methodist University
(1970–86) and the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences
(1986–98).
Korfhage's research focused on graph theory
and information retrieval
, and he wrote several textbooks and edited several collections in his area. In his later years, he worked on new ways of information visualization
and also genetic algorithm
s to optimize text queries.
He died of cancer
in Pittsburgh.
Information retrieval
Information retrieval is the area of study concerned with searching for documents, for information within documents, and for metadata about documents, as well as that of searching structured storage, relational databases, and the World Wide Web...
and several textbooks.
He was son of Dr. Roy Korfhage who as a chemist at Nestlé
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
in Fulton, Oswego County, New York
Fulton, Oswego County, New York
Fulton is a small city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 11,855 at the 2000 census. The city is named after Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat.The city of Fulton is located in the western part of the county....
. Korfhage
got his bachelors (1952) in engineering mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, while working part time at United Aircraft and Transport Corporation
United Aircraft and Transport Corporation
The United Aircraft and Transport Corporation was formed in 1929, when William Boeing of the Boeing firms teamed up with Frederick Rentschler of Pratt & Whitney to form a large, amalgamated firm, uniting business interests in all aspects of aviation—a combination of aircraft engine and airframe...
in East Hartford as programmer
Programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
. At the same university, he got masters and 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...
(1962) in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
,
his PhD dissertation being On Systems of Distinct Representatives for Several Collections of Sets
advised by Bernard Galler
Bernard Galler
Bernard A. Galler was an American mathematician and computer scientist at the University of Michigan who was involved in the development of large-scale operating systems and computer languages including the MAD programming language and the Michigan Terminal System operating system.He attended the...
(1962).
Korfhage then joined
the faculty at North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
(1962–64), Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
(1964–70), Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
(1970–86) and the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences
University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences
The University of Pittsburgh - School of Information Sciences is one of the nation’s pioneering schools in the education of information professionals, with a history that reaches back more than a hundred years to the days of Andrew Carnegie...
(1986–98).
Korfhage's research focused on graph theory
Graph theory
In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of graphs, mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects from a certain collection. A "graph" in this context refers to a collection of vertices or 'nodes' and a collection of edges that connect pairs of...
and information retrieval
Information retrieval
Information retrieval is the area of study concerned with searching for documents, for information within documents, and for metadata about documents, as well as that of searching structured storage, relational databases, and the World Wide Web...
, and he wrote several textbooks and edited several collections in his area. In his later years, he worked on new ways of information visualization
Information visualization
Information visualization is the interdisciplinary study of "the visual representation of large-scale collections of non-numerical information, such as files and lines of code in software systems, library and bibliographic databases, networks of relations on the internet, and so forth".- Overview...
and also genetic algorithm
Genetic algorithm
A genetic algorithm is a search heuristic that mimics the process of natural evolution. This heuristic is routinely used to generate useful solutions to optimization and search problems...
s to optimize text queries.
He died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in Pittsburgh.
Books
- A second course in calculus (Academic PressAcademic PressAcademic Press is an academic book publisher. Originally independent, it was acquired by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1969. Reed Elsevier bought Harcourt in 2000, and Academic Press is now an imprint of Elsevier....
, 1974). With Harley FlandersHarley FlandersHarley Flanders is an American mathematician, known for several textbooks and contributions to his fields: algebra and algebraic number theory, linear algebra, electrical networks, scientific computing....
and Justin Jesse PriceJustin Jesse PriceJustin Jesse Price is an American mathematician, known for several textbooks and contributions to his field.His Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania was I. Some Duality Theorems II... - Discrete computational structures (Academic PressAcademic PressAcademic Press is an academic book publisher. Originally independent, it was acquired by Harcourt, Brace & World in 1969. Reed Elsevier bought Harcourt in 2000, and Academic Press is now an imprint of Elsevier....
, 1984) - Principles of data structures and algorithms with Pascal (William C. Brown Publ., 1987). With Norman E. GibbsNorman E. GibbsNorman E. Gibbs was an American software engineer, scholar and educational leader.He studied to a B.Sc. in mathematics at Ursinus College and M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Computer Science at Purdue University, advised by Robert R. Korfhage...
. - Information storage and retrieval (WileyJohn Wiley & SonsJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc., also referred to as Wiley, is a global publishing company that specializes in academic publishing and markets its products to professionals and consumers, students and instructors in higher education, and researchers and practitioners in scientific, technical, medical, and...
, 1997). Winner of ASISASISASIS may refer to:* Australian Secret Intelligence Service* Ada Semantic Interface Specification * American Society for Information Science and Technology, sometimes known as the American Society for Information Science...
Best information science book award (1998).