A pioneering New Jersey professor has won the A.M. Turing Award — which has been described as the Nobel Prize for computer science — for his groundbreaking work helping computer algorithms reflect the “randomness” of the real world.
Avi Wigderson, the Herbert H. Maass Professor in the School of Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, was honored for his insights on randomness in theoretical computer science and his decades of leadership in the field that brings together math and science, officials announced Wednesday.
The Turing Award is named for Alan M. Turing, the British mathematician known for his role in breaking codes to secure victories during World War II. The award presented by the Association for Computing Machinery comes with a $1 million prize supported by Google.
Several past winners have ties to Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Study, which is an independent center for theoretical research that is not part of the Ivy League school, but is located nearby.
Other previous winners of the Turing Prize with ties to New Jersey include Bell Labs computer scientists and a winner from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, according to lists of honorees dating back to 1966.
Wigderson, 67, who described himself as “happy and excited” about winning the Turing Award, was also the co-winner of the 2021 Abel Prize in mathematics. He split an $880,000 prize with that award.
In explaining the importance of randomness to computing, Wigderson told NJ Advance Media numerous algorithms and applications require it to operate.
“Cryptography uses randomness so that users can generate secret keys and protect their data and communication,” Wigderson said in an email. “Network protocols use randomization for efficient routing and fault tolerance. AI models use randomization for optimization.”
Randomness is also used to speed up computations.
Association for Computing Machinery officials praised the professor for mentoring young researchers.
“His vast knowledge and unrivaled technical proficiency — coupled with his friendliness, enthusiasm and generosity — have attracted many of the best young minds to pursue careers in theoretical computer science,” according to the association’s announcement.
Wigderson’s work explores randomness, which when used in computer algorithms helps them better reflect the random nature of reality.
“Avi Wigderson’s work on randomness and other topics has set the agenda in theoretical computer science for the past three decades,” said Jeff Dean, senior vice president of Google.
“From the earliest days of computer science, researchers have recognized that incorporating randomness was a way to design faster algorithms for a wide range of applications. Efforts to better understand randomness continue to yield important benefits to our field, and Wigderson has opened new horizons in this area,” Dean said.
Wigderson has been in his position at the Institute for Advanced Study since 1999 and has also taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of California at Berkeley and worked at IBM. A graduate of The Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, he earned two master’s degrees and a doctorate in computer science from Princeton University.
Stories by Tina Kelley
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Tina Kelley may be reached at tkelley@njadvancemedia.com.