James H. Wilkinson was a British mathematician and computer scientist who worked with Alan Turing on the ACE computer at the National Physical Laboratory after the Second World War. He became a leading pioneer of numerical analysis, developing backward error analysis as a systematic way to understand how rounding errors in computer arithmetic affect the reliability of a calculation, and his algorithms for numerical linear algebra remain foundational to scientific computing. He won the Turing Award in 1970.
Facts
Awardhonorary doctor of Heriot-Watt University 2 AwardFellow of the Royal Society 2 FAQs
Which prizes are named after James H. Wilkinson?
A numerical analysis prize from 1982 and a numerical software prize from 1991.
Two prizes carry his name. The James H. Wilkinson Prize in Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing was established in 1982 by SIAM, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. The J. H. Wilkinson Prize for Numerical Software was established in 1991.
Connections
In Field
Source IEEE Computer Society History Committee: Computer Pioneers: James (Jim) Hardy Wilkinson
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Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: James H. Wilkinson
Wikimedia FoundationLead sectionQuote, Lead section
James Hardy Wilkinson FRS (27 September 1919 - 5 October 1986) was a prominent figure in the field of numerical analysis, a field at the boundary of applied mathematics and computer science particularly useful to physics and engineering.
2. Wikidata: James H. Wilkinson
IEEE Computer Society History Committee: Computer Pioneers: James (Jim) Hardy Wilkinson
IEEE Computer Society History CommitteeIn Field: Computational Science, Biography headerQuote, In Field: Computational Science, Biography header
numerical analyst, developer of the so-called "backward" error analysis
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