F. Thomson Leighton Explained

Frank Thomson Leighton
Birth Date:28 October 1956
Nationality:American
Field:Applied mathematics
Work Institution:Akamai Technologies
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Alma Mater:Princeton University (BSE)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD)
Thesis Title:Layouts for the shuffle-exchange graph and lower bound techniques for VLSI
Thesis Url:https://search.proquest.com/docview/303188814/
Thesis Year:1981
Doctoral Advisor:Gary Miller
Doctoral Students:Peter Shor, Mohammad Hajiaghayi, Robert Kleinberg, Satish Rao[1]
Prizes:
Spouse:Bonnie Berger

Frank Thomson "Tom" Leighton (born 1956) is an American mathematician who is the CEO of Akamai Technologies, the company he co-founded with Daniel Lewin in 1998,[2] and a professor of applied mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is a member of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT.

Early life and education

Leighton's father was a U.S. Navy colleague and friend of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, the father of naval nuclear propulsion and a founder of the Research Science Institute (RSI). His brother, David T. Leighton, is a professor at the University of Notre Dame specializing in transport phenomena.[3]

He received his B.S.E. in electrical engineering from Princeton University in 1978, and his Ph.D. in mathematics from MIT in 1981.[4]

Career

Leighton discovered a solution to free up web congestion using applied mathematics and distributed computing.[5]

Leighton worked on algorithms for network applications and has published over 100 papers on algorithms, cryptography, parallel architectures, distributed computing, combinatorial optimization, and graph theory. He also holds patents involving content delivery, Internet protocols, algorithms for networks, cryptography, and digital rights management.

Leighton has the Presidential Informational Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) and chaired its subcommittee on cybersecurity.[6] He is on the board of trustees of the Society for Science & the Public (SSP) and of the Center for Excellence in Education (CEE), and he has participated in the Distinguished Lecture Series at CEE's flagship program for high school students, the Research Science Institute (RSI).

Awards and honors

Personal life

He is married to the MIT professor Bonnie Berger,[12] [13] and they have two children.

Books

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: F. Thomson (Frank) Leighton . Mathematics Genealogy Project . Department of Mathematics, North Dakota State University . 18 September 2020.
  2. Erik Nygren, Ramesh Sitaraman, and Jennifer Sun. The Akamai Network: A Platform for High-Performance Internet Applications, ACM SIGOPS. Operating Systems Review. 44. July 2010.
  3. Web site: David Leighton — College of Engineering . Engineering.nd.edu . 2017-03-09.
  4. Layouts for the shuffle-exchange graph and lower bound techniques for VLSI . 1981 . . Ph.D. . Leighton . Frank Thomson . . subscription . 4433998366.
  5. Web site: National Inventors Hall of Fame . www.invent.org . 2019-01-10.
  6. Web site: Dr. Tom Leighton, CEO | Executive Team . Akamai.com . 2017-03-09.
  7. "CSAIL pioneer Tom Leighton awarded IEEE John von Neumann Medal" https://www.csail.mit.edu/news/csail-pioneer-tom-leighton-awarded-ieee-john-von-neumann-medal#:~:text=Leighton%20received%20the%20medal%20for,Internet%20faster%20and%20more%20secure. MIT CSAIL News, December 2, 2022
  8. "Professor Tom Leighton wins 2018 Marconi Prize" MIT News, March 23, 2018.
  9. "Professor Tom Leighton and Danny Lewin SM ’98 named to National Inventors Hall of Fame," MIT News, February 2, 2017.
  10. Web site: List of Fellows of the American Mathematical Society . Ams.org . 2015-04-13 . 2017-03-09.
  11. Web site: Fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). siam.org .
  12. Web site: Bonnie Berger '83 Establishes Junior Professorship in Mathematics with $2.5 Million Gift . July 28, 2022 . Eisenberg . David . Brandeis.
  13. Web site: A renewed home for the MIT Mathematics Department . June 10, 2016 . MIT Science.