Mathematisch Centrum

Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica

Type	National research institute
Established	1946
President	J. C. M. Baeten
Administrative staff	~200
Location	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Website	www.cwi.nl

The Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (abbr. CWI; English: "National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science") is a research center in the field of mathematics and theoretical computer science. It is part of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and is located at the Amsterdam Science Park. This institute is famous as the creation ground of the Python Programming Language. It was a founding member of the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM).

The institute was founded in 1946 by Johannes van der Corput, David van Dantzig, Jurjen Koksma, Hendrik Anthony Kramers, Marcel Minnaert and Jan Arnoldus Schouten. It was originally called Mathematical Centre (in Dutch: Mathematisch Centrum). One early mission was to develop mathematical prediction models to assist large Dutch engineering projects, such as the Delta Works. During this early period, the Mathematics Institute also helped with designing the wings of the Fokker F27 Friendship airplane, voted in 2006 as the most beautiful Dutch design of the 20th century.

The computer science component developed soon after. Adriaan van Wijngaarden, considered the founder of computer science (or informatica) in the Netherlands, was the director of the institute for almost 20 years. Edsger Dijkstra did most of his early influential work on algorithms and formal methods at CWI. The first Dutch computers, the Electrologica X1 and Electrologica X8, were both designed at the centre, and Electrologica was created as a spinoff to manufacture the machines.