Harlan Mills
Harlan D. Mills | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date |
| Died | January 8, 1996 (aged 76) |
| Occupation(s) | Computer scientist, software engineer, professor |
| Known for | Founder of Software Engineering Technology, Cleanroom software engineering methodology, IBM Software Engineering Institute, pioneering contributions to software engineering |
| Notable work | Principles of Computer Programming: A Mathematical Approach (co-author) |
Harlan D. Mills (May 14, 1919 – January 8, 1996) was a distinguished professor of computer science at the Florida Institute of Technology and the founder of Software Engineering Technology, Inc., based in Vero Beach, Florida, which was subsequently acquired by Q-Labs. His pioneering contributions to software engineering have left a lasting impact on both academic circles and the software industry. Mills earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Iowa State University in 1952, marking the beginning of a remarkable professional journey.
During his tenure as an IBM research fellow, Mills melded ideas from engineering and computer science, incorporating theories such as automata theory, the structured programming methodologies advocated by Edsger Dijkstra, Robert W. Floyd, and others, as well as software testing techniques based on Markov chain models. His development methodology known as Cleanroom emphasized formal specification alongside a top-down design approach. Over his career, Mills authored six books and contributed more than fifty peer-reviewed technical papers.
He earned recognition as a "super-programmer," an early model for what IBM later termed the "Chief Programmer."
Achievements
- Earned Ph.D. from Iowa State University in 1952
- Served as Visiting Professor (part-time) between 1975 and 1987
- Held position of Adjunct Professor from 1987 to 1995
- Chaired NSF Computer Science Research Panel on Software Methodology (1974–77)
- Led the First National Conference on Software Engineering in 1975
- Edited IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering from 1975 to 1981
- Represented the U.S. for software at the IFIP Congress in 1977
- Served as Governor of IEEE Computer Society (1980–83)
- Chaired IEEE Fall CompCon in 1981
- Headed Computer Science Panel of the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board in 1986
- Awarded Distinguished Information Sciences Award by DPMA in 1985
- Designed the original scheduling algorithm for the NFL
- Posthumously honored with ACM SIGSOFT Outstanding Research Award in 1999
The ICSE-affiliated symposium titled "Science and Engineering for Software Development" commemorates Mills’ contributions. Since 1996, the annual "Harlan Mills Practical Visionary Prize" has been awarded to individuals demonstrating outstanding achievements bridging theoretical and practical aspects of information sciences.
Early life
Originating from Liberty Center, Iowa, Mills pursued art studies under the mentorship of Grant Wood. During World War II, he served as a bomber pilot within the U.S. Army Air Corps. Due to his exceptional aptitude for flying and instruction, he was reassigned to train other pilots.
Education
Mills held academic positions at institutions including Iowa State University, Princeton, New York, and Johns Hopkins, as well as at the Universities of Maryland and Florida, alongside his role at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). At Johns Hopkins and Maryland, he was instrumental in launching one of America’s earliest university courses focused on structured programming. While at Maryland, he developed a comprehensive two-semester introductory computer science sequence for freshmen and co-authored the textbook Principles of Computer Programming: A Mathematical Approach with Basili, Gannon, and Hamlet. At FIT, collaborating with Engle and Newman, he designed an innovative software engineering curriculum for first- and second-year students centered on Ada programming language.
Industry
Mills held the distinguished title of IBM Fellow and was an active participant in IBM's Corporate Technical Committee. His career also included roles as a Technical Staff Member at both GE and RCA, as well as serving as President of Mathematica and Software Engineering Technology. At General Electric, he designed a comprehensive three-month management science program that educated hundreds of company executives. While at IBM, he spearheaded the creation of the IBM Software Engineering Institute, which provided training to thousands on the mathematical foundations underpinning software development. These concepts were later formalized by Mills into the Cleanroom software engineering methodology. As the founder of Software Engineering Technology, he facilitated the commercial adoption and transfer of Cleanroom techniques.
Nation
Mills was a strong advocate for rigorous software engineering practices through various federal initiatives. During the 1980s, his involvement in the DoD DARPA STARS Program helped establish key principles for producing software that is both high-quality and highly productive. In 1986, he led the Computer Science Panel on behalf of the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board. Earlier, from 1974 through 1977, Mills chaired the NSF Computer Science Research Panel focused on Software Methodology.
Profession
Throughout his career, Mills contributed extensively to professional organizations by serving on program committees and delivering invited lectures at numerous conferences. He also reviewed submissions for leading journals in mathematics and computer science. Between 1980 and 1983, he held a governor position within the IEEE Computer Society and was chair of the IEEE Fall CompCon event in 1981. From 1975 to 1981, Mills acted as editor for the IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering. In 1977, he represented American software interests at the IFIP Congress and chaired the inaugural National Conference on Software Engineering in 1975.
Harlan D. Mills Award
In recognition of Mills' significant impact, the IEEE Computer Society introduced the Harlan D. Mills Award in 1999. This accolade honors outstanding achievements bridging theoretical and practical aspects of software engineering within information sciences. A complete list of recipients is available on the IEEE's official website.
Further reading
- Linger and Witt (1979), Structured Programming: Theory and Practice, explores Mills' function-theoretic methodology for program verification
- Software Productivity (1983), compiles Mills' influential papers covering chief programmer teams, top-down design strategies, structured programming techniques, and methods ensuring program correctness
- Linger and Hevner (1986), Principles of Information System Analysis and Design, features Mills' applied work on specification and design mathematics
External links
- IP: Harlan Mills passed away this week – Mailing list announcement with additional information
- Harlan D. Mills List of publications from the DBLP Bibliography Server