Solomon W. Golomb | |
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Born | Solomon Wolf Golomb May 30, 1932 |
Died | May 1, 2016 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 83)
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Johns Hopkins University Harvard University |
Awards | Claude E. Shannon Award (1985) IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal (2000) National Medal of Science (2011) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Mathematics, engineering |
Institutions | University of Southern California |
Doctoral advisor | David Widder |
Solomon Wolf Golomb (/ɡəloʊm/;[1] May 30, 1932 – May 1, 2016) was an American mathematician, engineer, and professor of electrical engineering at the University of Southern California, best known for his works on mathematical games.[2] Most notably, he invented Cheskers (a hybrid between chess and checkers) in 1948. He also fully described polyominoes in 1953.[3][4] He specialized in problems of combinatorial analysis, number theory, coding theory, and communications. Pentomino boardgames, based on his work, would go on to inspire Tetris.[5]