PITTSBURGH-Edmund M. Clarke, professor of computer science and winner of the 2007 A.M. Turing Award, has been named a University Professor, the highest rank Carnegie Mellon University confers upon its faculty.

Clarke is known for his pioneering work on Model Checking, an automated method for finding design errors in computer hardware and software. It is the most widely used technique for detecting and diagnosing errors in complex hardware and software design, and has helped to improve the reliability of complex computer chips, systems and networks.

Clarke's work on Model Checking was recognized by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) with the Turing Award, considered to be the most prestigious award in computing. Often referred to as "the Nobel Prize of computing," it is named for British mathematician Alan M. Turing. Clarke shares the award with colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Grenoble.

"Ed has made many contributions to his research field, and also to Carnegie Mellon in his teaching, his advising of students and his intellectual leadership," said University Professor Randal E. Bryant, dean of the School of Computer Science. "I am pleased that he has been given the title of University Professor, showing he is counted among our most distinguished faculty."

Clarke has served on the editorial boards of numerous journals and is the former editor-in-chief of Formal Methods in Systems Design. He is a co-founder, with Joseph Sifakis, Robert Kushan and Amir Pnueli, of the annual International Conference on Computer-Aided Verification (CAV), which since 1989 has served as the major forum for research in the field of formal verification. He received a Technical Excellence Award from the Semiconductor Research Corporation in 1995, and the Harry M. Goode Memorial Award from the IEEE Computer Society in 2004. He is a fellow of both the ACM and the IEEE, and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2005.

Clarke received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Virginia and a master's degree in mathematics from Duke University. He earned a Ph.D. in computer science from Cornell University, and has taught at Harvard and Duke.

Additional Information

About Carnegie Mellon: Carnegie Mellon is a private research university with a distinctive mix of programs in engineering, computer science, robotics, business, public policy, fine arts and the humanities. More than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students receive an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation. A small student-to-faculty ratio provides an opportunity for close interaction between students and professors. While technology is pervasive on its 144-acre Pittsburgh campus, Carnegie Mellon is also distinctive among leading research universities for the world-renowned programs in its College of Fine Arts. A global university, Carnegie Mellon has campuses in Silicon Valley, Calif., and Qatar, and programs in Asia, Australia and Europe. For more, see www.cmu.edu.