Bjarne Stroustrup, inventor of C++ Computer Language, to speak at Stevens

HOBOKEN, N.J. ― One of the most prominent computer scientists of recent times will deliver a talk at Stevens Institute of Technology this coming Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009. The topic will be “The Design of C++0x,” and the speaker will be Dr. Bjarne Stroustrup. The talk will be held in Burchard 118 on the Stevens campus in Hoboken, N.J., beginning at 2 p.m. The talk is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Professor Lawrence Bernstein at lbernste@stevens.edu

Dr. Stroustrup invented, designed and implemented the computer language known as C++. Over the last decade, C++ has become the most widely used language supporting object-oriented programming by making abstraction techniques affordable and manageable for mainstream projects.

“We have a draft for a revised ISO C++ standard, C++0x,” said Stroustrup. “In my talk, I will present the background for C++, its aims, a bit about the standards process , with opinions, some of the guiding design principles, with tiny code examples, and a case study.

Using C++ as his tool, Stroustrup has pioneered the use of object-oriented and generic programming techniques in application areas where efficiency is a premium; examples include general systems programming, switching, simulation, graphics, user-interfaces, embedded systems, and scientific computation. The influence of C++ and the ideas it popularized are clearly visible far beyond the C++ community. Languages including C, C#, Java, and Fortran99 provide features pioneered for mainstream use by C++, as do systems, such as COM and CORBA.

Stroustrup’s book, "The C++ Programming Language," is the most widely read book of its kind and has been translated into at least 19 languages. A later book, "The Design and Evolution of C++," broke new ground in the description of the way a programming language was shaped by ideas, ideals, problems, and practical constraints. In addition to his five books, Stroustrup has published more than a hundred academic and more popular papers.

Bjarne Stroustrup was elected member of The National Academy of Engineering in 2004 "for the creation of the C++ programming language."

As the first computer scientist ever to be so honored, he was awarded the 2005 William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement from Sigma Xi (the scientific research society). He was given the IEEE Computer Society's 2004 Computer Entrepreneur Award "for pioneering the development and commercialization of industrial-strength, object-oriented programming technologies, and the profound changes they fostered in business and industry."

Stroustrup did his Ph.D. work on design of distributed systems in the Computing Laboratory of Cambridge University, England. In 1979, he joined the Computer Science Research Center of Bell Telephone Laboratories and held research positions with Bell Labs and AT&T. Stroustrup was the head of the Large-Scale Programming Research Department from its creation in AT&T Bell Labs until late 2002 when he joined the Texas A&M University, where he is the College of Engineering Chair Professor in Computer Science. He retains a link with AT&T Labs-Research as an AT&T Fellow.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870 and celebrating 140 Years of Innovation, Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University, is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,234 undergraduate and 3,700 graduate students with more than 400 faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.

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