Gerhard Chroust
Gerhard Chroust | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 23, 1941 Vienna, Austria |
| Occupation(s) | Systems scientist, professor emeritus |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Known for | Systems science, formal programming languages, multidisciplinary information management |
Gerhard Chroust (born 23 April 1941) is an Austrian expert in systems science and holds the title of Professor Emeritus in Systems Engineering and Automation at the Institute of System Sciences, Johannes Kepler University Linz. He is widely acknowledged for his proficiency in formal programming languages and multidisciplinary information management.
Biography
Chroust was born in Vienna, Austria, and pursued studies in Communications-electronics. He attained M.A. degrees from TU Wien in 1964 and the University of Pennsylvania in 1965, followed by a PhD from TU Wien in 1974.
Between 1966 and 1991, he was employed at the IBM Laboratory in Vienna. Starting in 1975, he delivered lectures on Microprogramming at both Johannes Kepler University Linz and TU Wien. In 1980, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Computer Science, teaching subjects such as Dataflow Mechanisms and Software Development Process across Johannes Kepler University Linz, University of Klagenfurt, and TU Wien. From 1992 until 2007, he held a professorship in Systems Engineering and Automation at Johannes Kepler University Linz, where he led the Department (which later became the Institute) of Systems Engineering and Automation.
Chroust serves as Editor-in-Chief for the International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR) Newsletter and chairs the editorial board for the Austrian Computer Society’s book series. His editorial contributions extend to journals including Microprocessors and Microsystems (1976–1985), IBM Programming Series (1978–1990), Computer Standards and Interfaces (1992–2005), and Systems Research and Behavioral Science since 1994. In 1997, he joined the academic advisory board of the International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics.
He has held various leadership roles such as Secretary/Treasurer of IFSR, Vice-President of the Austrian Society of Cybernetic Studies, and Advisor to the Austrian Standards Committee.
Family
Since marrying Janie Chroust (née Weps) in 1968, they have two sons—Martin (born 1971) and Stefan (born 1974)—and are grandparents to five grandchildren.
Work
Chroust’s research interests encompass Software Engineering—particularly the representation and execution of software process models, as well as enhancing development process quality—alongside Systems Science, systemic engineering principles, emergence phenomena, computing history, IT developments, and human factors influencing software development.
Cybernetics and Programming Languages
In 1964, Chroust completed his Masters Thesis titled "Kybernetisches Modell: Muehlespiel Masters," focusing on cybernetics, which led him to continue research on cybernetic machines for an additional four years.
From 1965 to 1966, he concentrated on formalizing Programming Languages by contributing to the development of the "Vienna Definition Language." His work from 1967 through 1975 involved exploring compiler theory and methods for evaluating arithmetic expressions.
During the 1970s, his investigations included parallelism and simulation (1969–72), microprogramming (1975–90), as well as compiler construction (1976–82).
Software engineering and information technology engineering
In the 1980s, Chroust redirected his focus towards software engineering and its broader environment, subsequently broadening into information technology engineering throughout the 1990s. His expertise extended to areas such as software inspection and Workflow management.
Publications
Gerhard Chroust has contributed to more than a dozen books and authored or co-authored upwards of 400 articles. Notable publications include:
- 1980. Firmware, Microprogramming, and Restructurable Hardware: Proceedings of the IFIP Working Conference on Firmware, Microprogramming, and Restructurable Hardware. Co-edited with Jörg R. Mühlbacher.
- 1985. Formal Models in Programming: Proceedings of the IFIP TC2 Working Conference on Abstract Models in Information Processing. Co-edited alongside E.J. Neuhold.
- 1989. Mikroprogrammierung und Rechnerentwurf. Published by Oldenbourg Verlag.
- 1992. Modelle der Software-Entwicklung – Aufbau und Interpretation von Vorgehensmodellen. Released through Oldenbourg Verlag.
- 1994. Workflow Management: Challenges, Paradigms, and Products – CON '94. Edited with A. Benczúr.
- 1995. Umfrage Workflow – Eine Momentaufnahme über die Verbreitung und Einsatz von Workflow in deutschsprachigen Ländern. Co-authored with J. Bergsmann and published by Oldenbourg Verlag.
- 2005. IFSR 2005 – The New Roles of Systems Sciences for a Knowledge-based Society. Edited with Jifa Gu, published by Jaist Press.
External links
- Gerhard Chroust’s Homepage at www.sea.uni-linz.ac.at.
- Profile of Dr. Gerhard Chroust. ICSCI, 2008.
- Article 25 Years of the IFSR: A Milestone in the Systems Sciences, authored by Gerhard Chroust.
- "Emeritus am Institut für Systems Engineering and Automation an der JKU Linz – ein Portrait" by Helmut Malleck (in German).