# Barbara Liskov

> American computer scientist

**Wikidata**: [Q16080922](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16080922)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Liskov)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/barbara-liskov

## Summary

Barbara Liskov was born November 7, 1939, in Los Angeles. She has United States citizenship. She is a computer scientist, university teacher, and engineer.Her education includes Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley.[1] Her field is computer science.Her awards include the Turing Award, IEEE John von Neumann Medal, Harold Pender Award, National Inventors Hall of Fame, Programming Languages Achievement Award, Weizmann Women & Science Award, and 2 more.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Association for Computing Machinery, and National Academy of Sciences.[9]

## Summary
Barbara Liskov is an American computer scientist known for her foundational work in programming languages and distributed computing. She is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a recipient of numerous accolades, including the Turing Award.

## Biography
- Born: 1939-11-07, Los Angeles
- Nationality: United States
- Education: Doctor of Philosophy from Stanford University (1968), University of California, Berkeley
- Known for: Programming languages (CLU, Argus), distributed computing
- Employer(s): Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Field(s): Computer science
- Doctoral Advisor: John McCarthy

## Contributions
Barbara Liskov has made significant contributions to the field of computer science, particularly in the areas of programming languages and distributed computing. She is credited with the creation and development of the programming language CLU, which had its inception in 1975. CLU introduced important concepts in data abstraction and object-oriented programming. Later, she also contributed to the development of the Argus programming language, which had its inception in 1980, with specific periods of development noted between 1982 and 1988. Argus was designed to support distributed computing, a field identified as her notable work. Her research and leadership in these areas have been recognized with prestigious awards, including the Turing Award in 2008, the IEEE John von Neumann Medal in 2004, and the Computer Pioneer Award in 2018. Her work has influenced generations of computer scientists, including her doctoral students such as Maurice Herlihy, Rivka Ladin, William E. Weihl, Sanjay Ghemawat, Andrew C. Myers, and Deepak Kapur.

## FAQs
### Q: Who is Barbara Liskov?
A: Barbara Liskov is an American computer scientist, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a recipient of the Turing Award. She is known for her work in programming languages and distributed computing.

### Q: What programming languages did Barbara Liskov help develop?
A: Barbara Liskov contributed to the creation and development of the programming languages CLU, which began in 1975, and Argus, which had its inception in 1980.

### Q: What notable awards has Barbara Liskov received?
A: Barbara Liskov has received several significant awards, including the Turing Award in 2008, the IEEE John von Neumann Medal in 2004, and the Computer Pioneer Award in 2018.

### Q: Where did Barbara Liskov receive her education?
A: Barbara Liskov earned her Doctor of Philosophy from Stanford University in 1968 and also attended the University of California, Berkeley.

### Q: What is Barbara Liskov's primary field of work?
A: Barbara Liskov's primary field of work is computer science, with a notable focus on programming languages and distributed computing.

## Why They Matter
Barbara Liskov's work fundamentally shaped modern computer science, particularly in the design of programming languages and robust distributed systems. Her development of the CLU programming language in 1975 introduced crucial concepts like data abstraction and abstract data types, which became cornerstones of object-oriented programming and software engineering. This influence is evident in many contemporary programming languages. Furthermore, her contributions to the Argus programming language and her broader work in distributed computing provided essential frameworks for building reliable and fault-tolerant systems across networked computers. Her insights into how software components interact in distributed environments have been critical for the development of scalable and resilient applications. The recognition through awards like the Turing Award underscores the profound and lasting impact her theoretical and practical contributions have had on the field, guiding both academic research and industrial practice.

## Notable For
*   Recipient of the Turing Award in 2008.
*   Recipient of the IEEE John von Neumann Medal in 2004.
*   Inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 1988 and the National Academy of Sciences in 2012.
*   Co-developer of the CLU programming language (inception 1975).
*   Co-developer of the Argus programming language (inception 1980).

## Body

### Personal Information
*   **Name**: Barbara Liskov (also known as Barbara Jane Huberman, Barbara Jane Liskov, Barbara Jane Huberman Liskov, Barbara H. Liskov)
*   **Birth Date**: 1939-11-07
*   **Birth Place**: Los Angeles
*   **Nationality**: United States
*   **Sex or Gender**: Female
*   **Languages Spoken**: English

### Education
*   **Doctor of Philosophy**: Stanford University (completed 1968)
*   **Other Education**: University of California, Berkeley
*   **Doctoral Advisor**: John McCarthy

### Career
*   **Occupation**: Computer scientist, university teacher, engineer
*   **Employer**: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
*   **Work Location**: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
*   **Field of Work**: Computer science
*   **Notable Work**: Distributed computing

### Created / Developed
*   **CLU**: Programming language (inception: 1975)
*   **Argus**: Programming language (inception: 1980, with qualifiers for 1982 and 1988)

### Doctoral Students
Barbara Liskov has advised numerous doctoral students, including:
*   Maurice Herlihy
*   Rivka Ladin
*   William E. Weihl
*   Sanjay Ghemawat
*   Andrew C. Myers
*   Deepak Kapur
*   Miguel Oom Temudo de Castro
*   Atul Adya
*   Umesh Maheshwari
*   Robert Edward Gruber

### Awards and Honors
*   **Turing Award**: 2008
*   **IEEE John von Neumann Medal**: 2004
*   **Harold Pender Award**: 2013
*   **National Inventors Hall of Fame**: 2012
*   **Programming Languages Achievement Award**: 2008
*   **Weizmann Women & Science Award**: 2015
*   **Computer Pioneer Award**: 2018
*   **Honorary Doctor of the University Polytechnic of Catalonia**: 2012-09-28
*   **Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award**: 1996
*   **ACM Fellow**: 1996

### Memberships
*   American Academy of Arts and Sciences
*   National Academy of Engineering (member since 1988)
*   Association for Computing Machinery (ACM Fellow since 1996)
*   National Academy of Sciences (Member since 2012)

### Archives
*   Her archives are held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries.

### Online Identifiers
*   **ISNI**: 0000000117605450
*   **GND ID**: 1069447846
*   **VIAF ID**: 44337197
*   **IDREF ID**: 030073928
*   **NUKAT ID**: n99041102
*   **BIBSYS ID**: 90186477
*   **Prabook ID**: 362161
*   **Freebase ID**: /m/056q6j
*   **Quora Topic**: Barbara-Liskov
*   **MR Author ID**: 253538
*   **DBLP Author ID**: l/BarbaraLiskov
*   **YALE LUX ID**: person/8134a2fa-a4dd-4aea-ad95-b9fea5c56595
*   **Open Library ID**: OL2670795A
*   **RERO ID (Legacy)**: A003524963
*   **Scopus Author ID**: 7003295036
*   **zbMATH Author ID**: liskov.barbara-h
*   **Cinii Research ID**: 1140845216639531264
*   **Geni.com Profile ID**: 6000000123040486822
*   **NACSIS CAT Author ID**: DA00137355
*   **WorldCat Entities ID**: E39PBJrWGdR3fXK8BfG8VpBkjC
*   **Libraries Australia ID**: 36536503
*   **ResearchGate Profile ID**: Barbara_Liskov
*   **Share Catalogue Author ID**: 25919
*   **Awards & Winners Artist ID**: 056q6j
*   **Semantic Scholar Author ID**: 1720373
*   **Canadiana Name Authority ID**: ncf10688092
*   **ACM Digital Library Author ID**: 81100323833
*   **National Library of Greece ID**: 265058
*   **National Library of Latvia ID**: 000060129
*   **Library of Congress Authority ID**: n81090977
*   **Mathematics Genealogy Project ID**: 61932
*   **National Library of Israel J9U ID**: 987007425202505171
*   **Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID**: biography/Barbara-Jane-Liskov
*   **National Inventors Hall of Fame ID**: barbara-liskov
*   **Bibliothèque Nationale de France ID**: 12156314m
*   **National Academy of Sciences Member ID**: 10662
*   **Nationale Thesaurus voor Auteursnamen ID**: 069490112
*   **National Academy of Engineering Member ID**: 27743
*   **Website**: http://www.pmg.csail.mit.edu/~liskov/

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## References

1. Virtual International Authority File
2. [Source](http://www.pmg.csail.mit.edu/~liskov/)
3. [Source](https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/liskov_1108679.cfm)
4. [Source](https://www.ieee.org/about/awards/bios/vonneumann-recipients.html#2019%20-%20Eva%20Tardos)
5. [Source](https://events.seas.upenn.edu/distinguished-lectures/pender-lecture/)
6. [Source](https://www.invent.org/inductees/barbara-liskov)
7. [Programming Languages Achievement Award](https://www.sigplan.org/Awards/Achievement/)
8. [Source](https://www.computer.org/profiles/barbara-liskov)
9. [Source](https://www.upc.edu/ca/la-upc/honoris-causa)
10. [Source](https://awards.acm.org/fellows/award-recipients)
11. [Source](https://inf.ethz.ch/de/departement/auszeichnungen-und-rankings/ehrendoktoren.html)
12. [Source](https://www.ncwit.org/ncwit-pioneer-tech-award)
13. [Mathematics Genealogy Project](https://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/id.php?id=61932)
14. Mathematics Genealogy Project
15. International Standard Name Identifier
16. CiNii Research
17. [Source](https://archivesspace.mit.edu/repositories/2/resources/1276)
18. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
19. [Barbara Liskov | Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL2670795A/Barbara_Liskov)
20. Quora
21. [Source](https://www.semanticscholar.org/author/Barbara-Liskov/1720373)