Gilles Kahn (April 17, 1946 – February 9, 2006) was a French computer scientist. He notably introduced

Kahn process network A Kahn process network (KPN, or process network) is a Distributed computing, distributed ''model of computation'' in which a group of deterministic sequential Process (computing), processes communicate through unbounded FIFO (computing and electron ...

s as a model for parallel processing and

natural semantics Operational semantics is a category of formal programming language semantics in which certain desired properties of a program, such as correctness, safety or security, are verified by constructing proofs from logical statements about its execu ...

for describing the operational semantics of

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 ...

s. Gilles Kahn was born in Paris. He studied at the

École polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

(X1964) and at

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

. He became a member of the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...

in 1997. He was president and director-general of

INRIA The National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (Inria) () is a French national research institution focusing on computer science and applied mathematics. It was created under the name ''Institut de recherche en informatiq ...

from 2004 to 2006. He died in

Garches Garches () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Garches has remained largely residential, but is also the location of Raymond Poincaré University Hospital, which specialises in traumatol ...

External links

Page at the French academy of sciences

1946 births 2006 deaths French computer scientists Members of the French Academy of Sciences École Polytechnique alumni {{France-compu-bio-stub