Lambert Guillaume Louis Théodore Meertens or L.G.L.T. Meertens (born 10 May 1944, in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

) is a Dutch

computer scientist A computer scientist is a person who is trained in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation, as opposed to the hardware side on which computer engineers mainly focus (al ...

and professor. , he is a researcher at the Kestrel Institute, a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

computer science research center in

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was estab ...

Stanford Research Park Stanford Research Park (SRP) is a technology park established in 1951 as a joint initiative between Stanford University and the City of Palo Alto. It has more than 150 companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Tesla Motors, TIBCO and VMware; previous ...

Life and career

As a student at the

Ignatius Gymnasium , logo = , image = Ignatiusgymnasium.jpg , image_size = 270px , alt = , caption = St. Ignatius Gymnasium in Amsterdam , motto = , location = Jan van Eijckstraat , city = Amsterdam , province = , country = Netherlands , coordinates = ...

in Amsterdam, Meertens designed a

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

with Kees Koster, a classmate. In the 1960s, Meertens applied

affix grammar An affix grammar is a kind of formal grammar; it is used to describe the Syntax (programming languages), syntax of languages, mainly computer languages, using an approach based on how natural language is typically described.Koster, Cornelis HA.Affi ...

s to the description and composition of music, and obtained a special prize from the jury at the 1968

International Federation for Information Processing The International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) is a global organisation for researchers and professionals working in the field of computing to conduct research, develop standards and promote information sharing. Established in 196 ...

(IFIP) Congress in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

for his computer-generated

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

, Quartet No. 1 in C major for 2 violins, viola and violoncello, based on the first non- context-free

. The string quartet was published in 1968, as ''Mathematical Centre Report MR 96''. Meertens was one of the editors of the Revised

ALGOL 68 ALGOL 68 (short for ''Algorithmic Language 1968'') is an imperative programming language that was conceived as a successor to the ALGOL 60 programming language, designed with the goal of a much wider scope of application and more rigorously de ...

Report. He was the originator and one of the designers of the

programming language A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, the incidental predecessor of

Python Python may refer to: Snakes * Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia ** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia * Python (mythology), a mythical serpent Computing * Python (pro ...

. He was chairman of the Dutch

Pacifist Socialist Party The Pacifist Socialist Party ( nl, Pacifistisch Socialistische Partij, PSP) was a Democratic socialism, democratic socialist Politics of the Netherlands, Dutch socialism, socialist political party. The PSP played a small role in Dutch politics. It ...

(PSP) from 1975 until 1981. He was codesigner of the Bird–Meertens formalism, along with Richard Bird, who also ''gifted'' him the

Meertens number In number theory and mathematical logic, a Meertens number in a given number base b is a natural number that is its own Gödel number. It was named after Lambert Meertens by Richard S. Bird as a present during the celebration of his 25 years at th ...

. He became involved with developing

international standard international standard is a technical standard developed by one or more international standards organizations. International standards are available for consideration and use worldwide. The most prominent such organization is the International Or ...

s in programming and informatics, as a member of

IFIP Working Group 2.1 IFIP Working Group 2.1 on Algorithmic Languages and Calculi is a working group of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP). IFIP WG 2.1 was formed as the body responsible for the continued support and maintenance of the progra ...

on Algorithmic Languages and Calculi, which specified, maintains, and supports the languages

ALGOL 60 ALGOL 60 (short for ''Algorithmic Language 1960'') is a member of the ALGOL family of computer programming languages. It followed on from ALGOL 58 which had introduced code blocks and the begin and end pairs for delimiting them, representing a k ...

and

. From 1999 to 2009, he was

chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

. His original work was at the Mathematical Centre (MC), now called

Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica The (abbr. CWI; English: "National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science") is a research centre in the field of mathematics and theoretical computer science. It is part of the institutes organization of the Dutch Research Cou ...

(CWI), in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. After having been Associate Professor of Computer Science at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

in 1982–83, he was part-time Professor of Applied Logic at

Delft University of Technology Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...

, the Netherlands, from 1984 to 1986 before becoming part-time Professor of Software Technology at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

, the Netherlands, where he is now

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

. , he works as a researcher at the Kestrel Institute in

, California.

Awards

* 2007:

(IFIP) Silver Core * 2015: IFIP Outstanding Service Award

References

External links

* , Kestrel Institute * , Utrecht University
List of Publications
1944 births Living people Dutch computer scientists Pacifist Socialist Party politicians Party chairs of the Netherlands Scientists from Amsterdam University of Amsterdam alumni Utrecht University faculty {{Compu-bio-stub