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Donald Knuth
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===Education=== Knuth received a scholarship in physics to the Case Institute of Technology (now part of [[Case Western Reserve University]]) in [[Cleveland]], Ohio, enrolling in 1956.<ref name="ency2020">{{cite web |title=Donald E. Knuth |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/science-and-technology/computers-and-computing-biographies/donald-e-knuth |website=Encyclopedia.com |access-date=17 September 2020}}</ref> He also joined the Beta Nu Chapter of the [[Theta Chi fraternity]]. While studying physics at Case, Knuth was introduced to the [[IBM 650]], an early commercial [[computer]]. After reading the computer's manual, Knuth decided to rewrite the [[assembly code|assembly]] and [[compiler]] code for the machine used in his school because he believed he could do it better.<ref name="Koshy2004">{{Cite book |first=Thomas |last=Koshy |title=Discrete mathematics with applications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=90KApidK5NwC&pg=PA244 |access-date=July 30, 2011 |year=2004 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-421180-3 |page=244 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112175255/http://books.google.com/books?id=90KApidK5NwC&pg=PA244 |archive-date=November 12, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1958, Knuth created a program to help his school's basketball team win its games.<ref>{{cite web |title=Donald Knuth, basketball and computers in sport |first=Keith |last=Lyons |url=https://keithlyons.me/blog/2018/09/25/donald-knuth-basketball-and-computers-in-sport/ |work=Clyde Street Archive |date=September 25, 2018 |access-date=August 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816141158/https://keithlyons.me/blog/2018/09/25/donald-knuth-basketball-and-computers-in-sport/ |archive-date=August 16, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He assigned "values" to players in order to gauge their probability of scoring points, a novel approach that ''[[Newsweek]]'' and ''[[CBS Evening News]]'' later reported on.<ref name= "Koshy2004"/> Knuth was one of the founding editors of the Case Institute's ''Engineering and Science Review'', which won a national award as best technical magazine in 1959.<ref name="BetaNu-Case-edu">{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160904030655/http://greeklife.case.edu/org/thetachi/Our_History |url=http://greeklife.case.edu/org/thetachi/Our_History |title=Beta Nu of Theta Chi, History of Beta Nu Chapter |publisher=[[CWRU]] |archive-date=September 4, 2016 |access-date=April 15, 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="BetaNu-ThetaChi-org">{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221062600/https://www.thetachi.org/beta-nu |url=https://www.thetachi.org/beta-nu |title=Beta Nu, Theta Chi |publisher=[[Theta Chi]] |archive-date=December 21, 2019 |access-date=December 21, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He then switched from physics to mathematics, and received two degrees from Case in 1960:<ref name="ency2020" /> his Bachelor of Science, and simultaneously a master of science by a special award of the faculty, who considered his work exceptionally outstanding.<ref name = "Turing Award">{{cite web |last=Walden |first=David |url=https://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/knuth_1013846.cfm |title=Donald E. Knuth - A.M. Turing Award Laureate |access-date=December 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017231352/http://amturing.acm.org/award_winners/knuth_1013846.cfm |archive-date=October 17, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name = "Koshy2004" /> At the end of his senior year at Case in 1960, Knuth proposed to [[Burroughs Corporation]] to write an [[ALGOL]] compiler for the B205 for $5,500. The proposal was accepted and he worked on the ALGOL compiler between graduating from Case and going to [[California Institute of Technology|Caltech]]. {{r|Feigenbaum 2007|p=66}}<ref name="Waychoff 1979">{{cite web |last1=Waychoff |first1=Richard |title=Stories About the B5000 and People Who Were There |url= https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2016/06/102724640-05-01-acc.pdf |website=Computer History Museum}}</ref>{{rp|7}} In 1963, with mathematician [[Marshall Hall (mathematician)|Marshall Hall]] as his adviser,<ref name=mathgene/> he earned a PhD in mathematics from the [[California Institute of Technology]], with a thesis titled ''Finite Semifields and Projective Planes''.<ref>{{Cite thesis |publisher=[[California Institute of Technology]] |date=1963 |url=https://thesis.library.caltech.edu/2441/1/Knuth_de_1963.pdf |title=Finite Semifields and Projective Planes |first=Donald Ervin |last=Knuth |type=PhD}}</ref>
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