Paul G. Comba

Paul G. Comba
Born1926 (1926)
Tunisia
DiedApril 4, 2017(2017-04-04) (aged 90–91)
EducationPh.D.
Alma materUniversity of Turin, Bluffton College, Caltech
AwardsLeslie C. Peltier Award (2003)
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics, Computer Science, Astronomy
InstitutionsUniversity of Hawaii, IBM Cambridge Scientific Center
ThesisGeometry of finite dimensional moment spaces and applications to orthogonal polynomials (1952)
Doctoral advisorFrederic Bohnenblust
Minor planets discovered: 690 [1]
see § List of discovered minor planets

Paul G. Comba (1926 – April 5, 2017) was an Italian-American computer scientist, an amateur astronomer and a prolific discoverer of minor planets.[2]

He was born in Tunisia to Italian parents in 1926, and moved to Italy at a young age. Admitted to university studies at the age of 17, He attended the University of Turin (1943–46). In 1946 he moved to the United States to attend Bluffton College, from which he graduated in 1947. He then attended Caltech, and completed his Ph.D. work in mathematics in 1951 (the degree was conferred at commencement in 1952). In 1951 he moved to Honolulu where he taught at the University of Hawaii until 1960.

He then joined IBM as a software developer, and later as a member of the IBM Cambridge Scientific Center. There he worked in Cryptography, and also developed a multiplication algorithm for large numbers, which reduces the multiplication time to as little as 3% of the conventional algorithm.[3][4]

In 2003 he won the Leslie C. Peltier Award for his contribution to astronomy.[5]

He is the author of the Astronomical League's Asteroid Club Observing Guide,[6] and was an active member of the Prescott Astronomy Club.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference MPC-Discoverers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Obituary: Paul G. Comba". The Daily Courier (Arizona). 14 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Guest Speakers". www.astroverde.org. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Comba multiplication - Everything2.com". everything2.com. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Peltier Award | The Astronomical League". www.astroleague.org. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2006. Retrieved 5 July 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Prescott Astronomy Club". 4 October 2006. Archived from the original on 4 October 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2018.