David Zuckerman (computer scientist)
{{short description|American theoretical computer scientist}}
{{Infobox scientist
| image =
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| name = David Zuckerman
| birth_date =
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| nationality = American
| field = Theoretical computer science
| work_institution = University of Texas at Austin
| alma_mater = University of California at Berkeley
Harvard University
| thesis_title = Computing Efficiently Using General Weak Random Sources
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| thesis_year = 1991
| doctoral_advisor = Umesh Vazirani
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| known_for = Pseudorandomness
| prizes = ACM Fellow
Simons Investigator
}}
David Zuckerman is an American theoretical computer scientist whose work concerns randomness in computation.{{cite web|url=https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~diz/RandomSurvey.pps|publisher=cs.utexas.edu|title=~diz/RandomSurvey|accessdate=2016-09-18|archive-date=2017-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170114214027/https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~diz/RandomSurvey.pps|url-status=dead}} He is a professor of computer science at the University of Texas at Austin.{{cite web|title=David Zuckerman's website |url=https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~diz/}}
Biography
Zuckerman received an A.B. in mathematics from Harvard University in 1987, where he was a Putnam Fellow in 1986.{{cite web|title=Putnam Competition Individual and Team Winners |url=http://www.maa.org/programs/maa-awards/putnam-competition-individual-and-team-winners |publisher=Mathematical Association of America|access-date=December 13, 2021}} He went on to earn a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California at Berkeley in 1991 advised by Umesh Vazirani.{{cite web|title=David Zuckerman's Curriculum Vitae |url=https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~diz/cv.pdf}}{{cite web|url=http://www.genealogy.ams.org/id.php?id=119734|publisher=genealogy.ams.org|title=David Zuckerman - The Mathematics Genealogy Project|accessdate=2016-09-18}} He then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Hebrew University of Jerusalem before joining the University of Texas in 1994. Zuckerman was named a Fellow of the ACM in 2013, and a Simons Investigator in 2016.{{cite web|url=http://awards.acm.org/fellow/year.cfm|publisher=awards.acm.org|title=ACM Fellows - Award Winners: List By Year|accessdate=2016-09-18|archive-date=2016-09-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901200810/http://awards.acm.org/fellow/year.cfm|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.simonsfoundation.org/mathematics-and-physical-science/simons-investigators/simons-investigators-awardees/|publisher=simonsfoundation.org|title=Simons Investigators Awardees {{pipe}} Simons Foundation|accessdate=2016-09-18|archive-date=2017-08-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806190912/https://www.simonsfoundation.org/mathematics-and-physical-science/simons-investigators/simons-investigators-awardees/|url-status=dead}}
Research
Most of Zuckerman's work concerns randomness in computation, and especially pseudorandomness. He has written over 80 papers on topics including randomness extractors, pseudorandom generators, coding theory, and cryptography.{{cite web|url=https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~diz/pubs/|publisher=cs.utexas.edu|title=David Zuckerman's Publications|accessdate=2016-09-18}}{{cite web|url=http://dblp.uni-trier.de/pers/hd/z/Zuckerman:David|publisher=dblp.uni-trier.de|title=dblp: David Zuckerman|accessdate=2016-09-18}} Zuckerman is best known for his work on randomness extractors. In 2015 Zuckerman and his student Eshan Chattopadhyay solved an important open problem in the area by giving the first explicit construction of two-source extractors.{{cite web|url=http://eccc.hpi-web.de/report/2015/119/|publisher=eccc.hpi-web.de|title=ECCC - TR15-119|date=23 July 2015 |accessdate=2016-09-18|last1=Chattopadhyay |first1=Eshan |last2=Zuckerman |first2=David }}{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/new-technique-produces-real-randomness|publisher=sciencenews.org|title=New technique produces real randomness {{pipe}} Science News|date=27 May 2016 |accessdate=2016-09-18}}{{cite web|url=https://mittheory.wordpress.com/2015/08/15/purifying-spoiled-randomness-with-spoiled-randomness/|publisher=mittheory.wordpress.com|title=Purifying spoiled randomness with spoiled randomness – Not so Great Ideas in Theoretical Computer Science|date=15 August 2015 |accessdate=2016-09-18}} The resulting paper won a best-paper award at the 2016 ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing.{{cite web|url=http://blog.computationalcomplexity.org/2016/06/stoc-2016.html|publisher=blog.computationalcomplexity.org|title=Computational Complexity: STOC 2016|accessdate=2016-09-18}}
References
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Category:University of Texas at Austin faculty
Category:American theoretical computer scientists
Category:Harvard College alumni
Category:UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education alumni