A Conversation with Donald Knuth

The UBC Department of Computer Science is delighted to host this special event with Donald E. Knuth, one of the most influential pioneers in computer science. His multivolume work “The Art of Computer Programming” is regarded as one of the seminal and most comprehensive compendiums in the area of computer programming and has been periodically updated ever since the publication of the first volume in 1968. Knuth also exerted significant influence on the publications in the technical and mathematical sciences through the creation of the typesetting system TeX. This system has rendered the layouting process of scientific works considerably easier and has thus become indispensable.

Knuth’s influential contributions to the foundations of theoretical computer science have earned him many prizes, such as the Turing Award, the highest distinction in the field (often labeled as the Nobel Prize of computer science). Apart from his scientific work, Knuth helped shape the nomenclature of computer science, thus contributing significantly to increased clarity and unambiguity in computer science literature.

Instead of a traditional lecture, Knuth invites his audience to an “All questions answered” event, where questions regarding any kind of topic may be posed by the attendees.