David R. Wallace
David R. Wallace | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 15, 1942 |
| Died | March 2, 2012 (aged 69) |
| Occupation(s) | Mathematician, inventor |
| Known for | Wallace algorithm, Software Cloaking |
David R. Wallace (December 15, 1942 – March 2, 2012) was a prominent American mathematician and inventor, recognized for creating the Wallace algorithm as well as pioneering “Software Cloaking,” a patented technique designed to obscure the internal workings of computer programs.
Education and professional career
Wallace obtained his academic qualifications in mathematics from several institutions: a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University, a Master of Arts from the University of California at Berkeley, and a doctoral degree from Tulane University in 1975. His Ph.D. thesis was entitled Permutation Groupoids and Circuit Bases: An Algebraic Resolution of Some Graph Structures.
Throughout his career, he held faculty positions at Emory University, DePauw, and Boston University. Professionally, Wallace served as Chief Software Architect at Alliant, Chief Compiler Architect at Sun Microsystems, and was a co-founder of Determina, which was later acquired by VMware.
Inventions
Wallace is credited with developing the Wallace algorithm, which facilitates the analysis of dependencies among array references within scientific computing programs to support parallelization efforts.
He also originated the concept of “Software Cloaking,” a method aimed at safeguarding software from reverse engineering and enhancing protection for DRM systems by mathematically concealing program functions. This innovation was officially patented in 2001 under the title “System and Method for Cloaking Software” by the USPTO.
Furthermore, Wallace held pending patents related to the "Greencastle Vulnerability Shield," representing a novel solution in the field of software security.