![Harold Lawson 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Harold_Lawson_2.jpg)
Harold W. "Bud" Lawson (1937–2019) was a
software engineer
Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development.
A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term ''p ...
,
computer architect and
systems engineer. Lawson is credited with the 1964 invention of the
pointer in
high-level programming language
In computer science, a high-level programming language is a programming language with strong abstraction from the details of the computer. In contrast to low-level programming languages, it may use natural language ''elements'', be easier to us ...
s (with "a lot of comments" from
Donald Knuth
Donald Ervin Knuth ( ; born January 10, 1938) is an American computer scientist, mathematician, and professor emeritus at Stanford University. He is the 1974 recipient of the ACM Turing Award, informally considered the Nobel Prize of computer sc ...
and
Douglas McIlroy
Malcolm Douglas McIlroy (born 1932) is a mathematician, engineer, and programmer. As of 2019 he is an Adjunct Professor of Computer Science at Dartmouth College.
McIlroy is best known for having originally proposed Unix pipelines and developed se ...
). In 2000, Lawson was presented the Computer Pioneer Award by the
IEEE
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operat ...
for his invention.
In July, 2010 he published a new book entitled ''A Journey Through the Systems Landscape'' () with
College Publications
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a University system, constituent part of one. A college may be a academic degree, degree-awarding Tertiary education, tertiary educational institution, a part of a coll ...
. The book provides a comprehensive discipline-independent approach to learning to "think" and "act" in terms of systems.
Amongst several academic appointments, his last position was as Professor of
Telecommunications
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
and
Computer Systems
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These program ...
at
Linköping University
Linköping University (, LiU) is a public research university based in Linköping, Sweden. Originally established in 1969, it was granted full university status in 1975 and is one of Sweden's largest academic institutions. The university has fou ...
where he co-founded its Department of Computer and Information Science in 1983.
He is a
Fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
of
ACM, Fellow and Life Member of the
IEEE
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operat ...
, and Fellow of the International Council on Systems Engineering
INCOSE
The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE; pronounced in-co-see) is a not-for-profit membership organization and professional society in the field of systems engineering. INCOSE has about 17000 members including individual members, ...
IEEE
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operat ...
Charles Babbage Computer Pioneer and
INCOSE
The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE; pronounced in-co-see) is a not-for-profit membership organization and professional society in the field of systems engineering. INCOSE has about 17000 members including individual members, ...
Systems Engineering Pioneer.
Bud died in Stockholm on June 10, 2019, after a period of illness.
References
6. Alvaro Videla. Kateryna L. Yushchenko — Inventor of Pointers (Dec 8, 2018). A Computer of One's Own Pioneers of the Computing Age
https://medium.com/a-computer-of-ones-own/kateryna-l-yushchenko-inventor-of-pointers-6f2796fa1798
1937 births
2019 deaths
American computer scientists
American software engineers
American emigrants to Sweden
Academic staff of Linköping University
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