David Albert Huffman (August 9, 1925 – October 7, 1999) was an American pioneer in computer science, known for his Huffman coding.[1][2] He was also one of the pioneers in the field of mathematical origami.[3]
David A. Huffman
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|---|---|
| Born | (1925-08-09)August 9, 1925 |
| Died | October 7, 1999(1999-10-07) (aged 74) |
| Alma mater | Ohio State University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Known for | Huffman coding |
| Awards | IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal (1999) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Information theory, Coding theory |
| Thesis | The Synthesis of Sequential Switching Circuits (1953) |
| Doctoral advisor | Samuel H. Caldwell |
Huffman earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Ohio State University in 1944. Then, he served two years as an officer in the United States Navy. He returned to Ohio State to earn his master's degree in electrical engineering in 1949. In 1953, he earned his Doctor of Science in electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with the thesis The Synthesis of Sequential Switching Circuits, advised by Samuel H. Caldwell.[1][2][4]
Huffman joined the faculty at MIT in 1953. In 1967, he joined the faculty of University of California, Santa Cruz and helped found its Computer Science Department, where he served as chair from 1970 to 1973. He retired in 1994.[2]
Huffman is best known for Huffman coding, which he published while a ScD student at MIT in 1952. Huffman came up with the algorithm when a professor offered students to either take the traditional final exam, or improve a leading algorithm for data compression.[5] Huffman reportedly was more proud of his work "The Synthesis of Sequential Switching Circuits,"[1] which was the topic of his 1953 MIT thesis (an abridged version of which was published in the Journal of the Franklin Institute in 1954.[6])