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Cerf -- who is president-elect of the Association for ComputingMachinery and general chair of that organization's effort tocelebrate the upcoming 100th anniversary of Turing's birth on June23 -- says that it's tough to overstate the importance of Turing'srole in shaping the world of modern computing. "Alan had such a broad impact on so many aspects of computerscience," says Cerf. "The deep notion of computability is sofundamental to everything we do in computing." "People ... have done computing for thousands of years," says MosheVardi, a distinguished computer science professor at RiceUniversity who is working closely with Cerf on the upcoming ACMcelebrations. "But the theory of computing really started in the20th century, and Turing is one of the foremost -- if not theforemost -- parents of the theory of computing." Both Vardi and Cerf -- who are influential figures in computerscience in their own rights -- cited the idea of computability, orthe ability to solve a problem efficiently, as a foundationalconcept for the development of modern computers. "Businesses don't even realize how much they rely on [the idea],"says Vardi. "Today, when you have people doing algorithmic tradingon Wall Street, they are following in Turing's footsteps. ... Thereis a line of development, each one following the other, that ledfrom the question 'what is computable?' to the world you see aroundus today." Who was Turing? Alan Turing was born on June 23, 1912, in London. After studying atKing's College, Cambridge, and becoming a fellow at the age of 22,he did some of his most important conceptual work in inventing whathe called the "a-machine," better known to the world as the Turingmachine (pictured, right). This hypothetical device -- which readssymbols from a paper strip of theoretically infinite length andinterprets them according to an inbuilt table of rules -- iscrucially important to the development of computational theory. The work for which Turing is probably best known to the public,however, is his central role in cracking German military codesduring World War II. Turing's earlier research stood him in good stead at theultra-secret Government Code and Cipher School, located atBletchley Park. Along with contributing enormously to the wareffort by providing detailed intelligence on German communications,his work at GCCS presaged the development of the rudimentarycomputers he would design after hostilities ended. While he had already created a digital multiplier during a spell atPrinceton University before the war, the design of the AutomatedComputing Engine, or ACE (pictured, left), was to have far greatereffects on the development of the computer -- providing a basis fora whole generation of devices, including the Bendix G-15. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Eyebrow Piercing Rings Manufacturer , Industrial Barbell Jewelry for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Body Piercings Jewelry.
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