Hal Abelson
| Hal Abelson | |
|---|---|
Abelson in 2007
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| Born | April 26, 1947 |
| Fields | computer science, ethics, law, methodology, amorphous computing |
| Institutions | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Alma mater |
Princeton University MIT |
| Thesis | Topologically Distinct Conjugate-Varieties with Finite Fundamental-Group (1973) |
| Doctoral advisor | Dennis Sullivan |
| Doctoral students | Elizabeth Bradley, Daniel Coore, Michael Eisenberg, Margaret Fleck, Radhika Nagpal, Mitchel Resnick, Luis Rodriguez, Jr., Guillermo Rozas, Latanya Sweeney, Kurt VanLehn, Ron Weiss, Kenneth Yip, Feng Zhao, Fuming Shih |
| Known for | Creative Commons, Public Knowledge, Free Software Foundation, Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs |
| Notable awards | Bose Award (MIT School of Engineering, 1992) Taylor L. Booth Education Award (IEEE-CS, 1995) SIGCSE 2012 Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education (ACM, 2012) |
Harold "Hal" Abelson (born April 26, 1947) is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, a fellow of the IEEE, and a founding director of both Creative Commons and the Free Software Foundation.
He directed the first implementation of Logo for the Apple II, which made the language widely available on personal computers beginning in 1981; and published a widely selling book on Logo in 1982. Together with Gerald Jay Sussman, Abelson developed MIT's introductory computer science subject, The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (aka 6.001), a subject organized around the notion that a computer language is primarily a formal medium for expressing ideas about methodology, rather than just a way to get a computer to perform operations. Abelson and Sussman also cooperate in codirecting the MIT Project on Mathematics and Computation. The MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) project was spearheaded by Hal Abelson and other MIT faculty.
Abelson lead an internal investigation of the school's choices and role in the prosecution of Aaron Swartz by the FBI, which concluded that MIT did nothing legally wrong, but recommended that MIT consider changing some of its internal policies.
Abelson holds an AB degree from Princeton University and obtained a PhD degree in mathematics from MIT under the tutelage of mathematician Dennis Sullivan.
Abelson has a longstanding interest in using computation as a conceptual framework in teaching. He directed the first implementation of Logo for the Apple II, which made the language widely available on personal computers beginning in 1981; and published a widely selling book on Logo in 1982. His book Turtle Geometry, written with Andrea diSessa in 1981, presented a computational approach to geometry which has been cited as "the first step in a revolutionary change in the entire teaching/learning process." In March 2015, a copy of Abelson's 1969 implementation of Turtle graphics was sold at The Algorithm Auction, the world’s first auction of computer algorithms.
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