In an institution crammed with geniuses, Yale University can add another to the official list.
The MacArthur Foundation awarded Yale computer scientist Daniel Spielman a $500,000 “genius” grant, recognizing his work in abstract code theory. Spielman was the only representative from Connecticut of 22 MacArthur Fellowship recipients for 2012, with the prize meant to encourage innovative thinkers from a wide range of pursuits in arts, science and other disciplines.
Spielman’s early research pursued aspects of coding theory. When transferring digital information, sometimes even one incorrect bit can destroy the integrity of the data stream; adding verification codes to the data helps to test its accuracy. Spielman and collaborators developed several families of codes that optimize speed and reliability, some approaching the theoretical limit of performance.
In a separate line of research, Spielman resolved an enduring mystery of computer science: why some computer algorithms work better in practice than theory would predict. The MacArthur Foundation stated the breakthrough holds enormous practical implications for a myriad of calculations in science, engineering, social science, business, and statistics that depend on the simplex algorithm or its derivatives.
Most recently, Spielman has championed the application of linear algebra to solve optimization problems in graph theory, promising significant improvements in the speed of a wide range of applications, such as scheduling, operating system design, and DNA sequence analysis.
Spielman is a 1992 graduate of Yale and received a Ph.D. in 1995 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he taught a decade before returning to Yale.
Other tri-state area MacArthur Fellows include:
- Jad Abumrad, a radio host and producer with WNYC Radio in New York City;
- Francisco Núñez, composer and conductor for the Young People’s Chorus of New York City;
- Dafnis Prieto, a jazz percussionist and composer in New York City;
- Jacob Soll, a European historian at Rutgers University in New Jersey;
- Ubaldo Vitali, a silversmith in Maplewood, N.J.; and
- Alisa Weilerstein, a celloist in New York City.
