Published by the MIT News Office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
Published by the MIT News Office at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
COMPUTER RESEARCHER Meyer Named to New Hitachi-America Chair Hitachi America, Ltd., of Tarrytown, N.Y., has established the Hitachi America Professorship of Engineering at MIT through a gift of $1.5 million. Former Dean of Engineering Gerald L. Wilson named Albert R. Meyer, professor of computer science in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, to occupy the chair. Professor Meyer is a leading researcher at the Laboratory for Computer Science and is internationally respected for his work in theoretical computer science. "MIT is pleased to announce the establishment of this chair as the latest development in its long relationship with Hitachi," said Professor Joel Moses, newly appointed Dean of the School of engineering. "Hitachi and MIT both occupy positions of world leadership in engineering and set standards for excellence that are widely respected." Dean Moses added that both Hitachi and MIT share a commitment to the betterment of global society through investment in the future of technology and education. "The Hitachi Professorship of Engineering," he said, "will serve these goals well." Hitachi has been a member of the MIT Industrial Liaison Program since 1976. Hitachi America President Keishi Toda said, "Scientific education, advanced research and the free exchange of ideas benefit all mankind. MIT is one of the great centers of technology and education in the world. We're honored and delighted that Professor Meyer has accepted this chair." Professor Meyer discovered the first example of a computational problem which, albeit solvable in theory, was unsolvable without astronomical computational effort. His work in this area established him as a leader in solutions of computational complexity. Professor Meyer has been an MIT faculty member since 1969. He received his BA in mathematics from Harvard in 1963 and his AM and PhD in 1965 and 1972 respectively in applied mathematics, also from Harvard. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Warwick, England; the University of California, Berkeley; Carnegie-Mellon University and Harvard University. He is the author or co-author of two books and more than 70 technical papers. Hitachi America, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., of Japan, markets and manufactures electrical and electronics goods throughout the United States. Hitachi, Ltd., is one of the world's largest electrical and electronic companies, with fiscal 1989 revenues (ending March 31, 1990) of $51.3 billion.