Frances Elizabeth Allen (1932 - 2020) was an American computer scientist who pioneered the theory and practice of optimizing compilers, the software that translates high-level programs into fast, efficient machine code. In 2006 she became the first woman to receive the Turing Award, the highest honor in computing.[2]
Early life and education
Frances Allen was born on August 4, 1932, on a farm in Peru, New York.[1] She earned a bachelor's degree from the New York State College for Teachers (now the University at Albany, SUNY) and briefly worked as a high school mathematics teacher. She went on to complete a master's degree in mathematics at the University of Michigan in 1957.
Career at IBM
Allen joined IBM Research in 1957, intending to stay only long enough to repay her student loans; she remained with the company for her entire 45-year career.[1] One of her earliest assignments was teaching IBM scientists the newly created FORTRAN programming language. She later worked on compilers for several major IBM systems, including the Stretch-Harvest project and the experimental Advanced Computing System.
Contributions to compilers
Allen's research focused on techniques that let compilers generate faster code and exploit parallel hardware. Her papers on program optimization and control-flow analysis, several written with John Cocke, became foundational to the field.[1] She later led the PTRAN (Parallel Translation) project, which studied automatic methods for compiling programs to run on parallel computers.
Recognition and legacy
In 1989 Allen became the first woman to be named an IBM Fellow, the company's highest technical honor.[1] For her pioneering work on optimizing compilers, she received the 2006 Turing Award, the first woman to be so honored.[2]
Her many other distinctions include the Ada Lovelace Award, the Computer Pioneer Award, and election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Throughout her career she was also a prominent advocate for women in computing.
