Added to Book Volume 0: Axiom Jenks and Sutor
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Richard Dimick Jenks | | Axiom Developer and Computer Algebra Pioneer | | | | | | Richard D. Jenks was born on November 16, 1937 in Dixon, Illinois, | | where he grew up. During his childhood he learned to play the organ | | and sang in the church choir thereby developing a life-long passion | | for music. | | | | He received his PhD in mathematics from the University of Illinois at | | Urbana-Champaign in 1966. The title of his dissertation was | | ``Quadratic Differential Systems for Mathematical Models" and was | | written under the supervision of Donald Gilles. After completing his | | PhD, he was a post-doctoral fellow at Brookhaven National Laboratory | | on Long Island. In 1968 he joined IBM Research where he worked until | | his retirement in 2002. | | | | At IBM he was a principal architect of the Scratchpad system, one of | | the earliest computer algebra systems(1971). Dick always believed that | | natural user interfaces were essential and developed a user-friendly | | rule-based system for Scratchpad. Although this rule-based approach | | was easy to use, as algorithms for computer algebra became more | | complicated, he began to understand that an abstract data type | | approach would give sophisticated algorithm development considerably | | more leverage. In 1977 he began the Axiom development (originally | | called Scratchpad II) with the design of MODLISP, a merger of Lisp | | with types (modes). In 1980, with the help of many others, he | | completed an initial prototype design based on categories and domains | | that were intended to be natural for mathematically sophisticated | | users. | | | | During this period many researchers in computer algebra visited IBM | | Research in Yorktown Heights and contributed to the development of the | | Axiom system. All this activity made the computer algebra group at IBM | | one of the leading centers for research in this area and Dick was | | always there to organize the visits and provide a stimulating and | | pleasant working environment for everyone. He had a good perspective | | on the most important research directions and worked to attract | | world-renowned experts to visit and interact with his group. He was an | | ideal manager for whom to work, one who always put the project and the | | needs of the group members first. It was a joy to work in such a | | vibrant and stimulating environment. | | | | After many years of development, a decision was made to rename | | Scratchpad II to Axiom and to release it as a product. Dick and Robert | | Sutor were the primary authors of the book Axiom: The Scientific | | Computation System. In the foreword of the book, written by David and | | Gregory Chudnovsky, it is stated that ``The Scratchpad system took its | | time to blossom into the beautiful Axiom product. There is no rival to | | this powerful environment in its scope and, most importantly, in its | | structure and organization.'' Axiom was recently made available as | | free software. See http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/axiom. | | | | Dick was active in service to the computer algebra community as | | well. Here are some highlights. He served as Chair of ACM SIGSAM | | (1979-81) and Conference Co-chair (with J. A. van Hulzen) of EUROSAM | | '84, a precursor of the ISSAC meetings. Dick also had a long period of | | service on the editorial board of the Journal of Symbolic | | Computation. At ISSAC '95 in Montreal, Dick was elected to the initial | | ISSAC Steering Committee and was elected as the second Chair of the | | Committee in 1997. He, along with David Chudnovsky, organized the | | highly successful meetings on Computers and Mathematics that were held | | at Stanford in 1986 and MIT in 1989. | | | | Dick had many interests outside of his professional pursuits including | | reading, travel, physical fitness, and especially music. Dick was an | | accomplished pianist, organist, and vocalist. At one point he was the | | organist and choirmaster of the Church of the Holy Communion in | | Mahopac, NY. In the 1980s and 1990s, he sang in choral groups under | | the direction of Dr. Dennis Keene that performed at Lincoln Center in | | New York city. | | | | Especially important to him was his family: his eldest son Doug and | | his wife Patricia, his son Daniel and his wife Mercedes, a daughter | | Susan, his brother Albert and his wife Barbara, his sister Diane | | Alabaster and her husband Harold, his grandchildren Douglas, Valerie, | | Ryan, and Daniel Richard, and step-granddaughter Danielle. His | | longtime companion, Barbara Gatje, shared his love for music, | | traveling, Point O'Woods, and life in general. | | | | On December 30, 2003, Dick Jenks died at the age of 66, after an | | extended and courageous battle with multiple system | | atrophy. Personally, Dick was warm, generous, and outgoing with many | | friends. He will be missed for his technical accomplishments, his | | artist talents, and most of all for his positive, gentle, charming | | spirit. | | | | Prepared by Bob Caviness, Barry Trager, and Patrizia Gianni with | | contributions from Barbara Gatje, James H. Griesmer, Tony Hearn, | | Manuel Bronstein, and Erich Kaltofen. | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ _______________________________________________ Axiom-developer mailing list [email protected] http://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/axiom-developer
