february january american mathematician work implications computer engineering telecommunications contributions include code makes use matrix window numbers sphere packing bound distance born chicago attended university_of_chicago wrote doctoral thesis mathematics supervision april joined manhattan_project programmed calculating machines solution provided project left join years involved nearly laboratories prominent achievements retiring took position california worked professor senior lecturer computer science devoted teaching writing books delivered lecture december weeks died heart attack january early life born chicago illinois february son credit manager grew chicago attended initially wanted study engineering money scarce great depression scholarship offer received came university_of_chicago engineering school instead science student mathematics received degree later considered fortunate turn events engineer said guy going instead having excitement frontier research work went earn master arts degree entered wrote doctoral thesis problems linear differential supervision thesis extension work area looked green function developed methods obtaining characteristic solutions graduate student discovered read laws thought awarded doctor philosophy instructor mathematics married fellow student september immediately awarded master arts english literature remain married death children assistant professor louisville kentucky manhattan_project world war ongoing left louisville april work manhattan_project division programming calculating machines solution provided project wife soon followed taking job human computer working later recalled shortly field test realize small scale experiment critical mass man asked check agreed thinking subordinate asked said probability test bomb atmosphere decided check day came answers remarked apparently correct know capture cross sections oxygen nitrogen experiments needed energy levels replied like physicist talking mathematician wanted check physics left said involved life known universe know essential pacing corridor friend asked told reply mind blame remained accepted post trip new_jersey bought old car later sold weeks spy fbi regarded timing suspicious described role computer saw computer experiments impossible perform laboratory time think later recalled realized meant science going changed bell shared office time included veterans shannon came class later recalled unconventional things unconventional ways got valuable results management tolerate let lot time hired work theory spent time calculating machines went home friday set machines perform long complex series calculations weekend find arrived monday morning error occurred early process calculation digital machines manipulated information sequences ones units information bits single bit sequence wrong sequence detect bit verify sequence computer tell error occurred reasoned surely way telling error computer correct error set task solving problem realised enormous range applications bit zero know bit wrong corrected landmark paper published introduced concept number positions code words differ changes required transform code word today known distance created family mathematical error code called codes solved important problem telecommunications computer science opened new field study bound known sphere packing volume bound limit parameters arbitrary block code interpretation terms sphere packing distance space possible words gives important limitation efficiency error code utilize space code words embedded code bound said perfect code codes perfect codes returning differential studied means numerically integrating popular approach time method attributed unstable certain conditions result noise developed improved version use years superseded adams method extensive research digital filters new filter window eventually writing entire book subject 1950s programmed earliest computers developed programming language earliest computer languages widely external users knew bell superseded replaced attributed problem efficiently finding regular numbers problem known problem regular numbers referred numbers discover time avoided management responsibilities promoted management positions times managed temporary knew sense avoiding management later recalled duty organization biggest failures later life served president predicted day half budget spent computing colleagues thought high forecast actually proved low philosophy scientific computing appeared motto numerical methods scientists engineers purpose computing insight numbers later life interested teaching left bell held visiting stanford_university resented older scientists space resources better use young turks looking commemorative poster valued achievements noted worked associated nearly listed half career second resolved retire thirty years moved california worked professor senior lecturer computer science gave research concentrated teaching writing books noted way mathematics currently taught dull book currently campus found single problem answer felt student care problems text dignity solving puzzle hard sure result significance life attempted situation new text methods mathematics applied probability statistics remarked left knew end scientific career retire sense end proved professor emeritus june delivered lecture december weeks death heart attack january survived wife awards professional recognition award member fellow basic research award named award given annually exceptional contributions information sciences systems technology recipient medal reverse medal depicts check matrix error code appearances discusses use potential computers film logic machine
Richard Hamming