Michael Kölling
Michael Kölling | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bremen, Germany |
| Occupation(s) | Computer scientist, educator, author |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Known for | BlueJ, Greenfoot, Blue programming language |
| Notable work | Objects First with Java, Introduction to Programming with Greenfoot |
Michael Kölling is a German computer scientist affiliated with King's College London, best known for creating the educational programming environments BlueJ and Greenfoot as well as writing beginner programming textbooks. His contributions have had a profound impact on computer science teaching, culminating in his receipt of the SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education in 2013, specifically for BlueJ.
Education and early life
Originating from Bremen, Germany, Kölling obtained his degree in informatics from the University of Bremen. He earned his doctorate in computer science at the University of Sydney in 1999, where he specialized in developing an object-oriented programming language and environment under the mentorship of John Rosenberg.
Career and research
Between 1995 and 1997, Kölling was employed at Sydney University. He later took on the role of senior lecturer at Monash University, followed by an associate professorship at the University of Southern Denmark starting in 2001. Until February 2017, he was part of the School of Computing at the University of Kent, UK. Presently, he serves as a professor of computer science at King's College London and holds the position of vice-dean for education.
He is the principal creator of Blue, an object-oriented programming language, along with the integrated development environments BlueJ and Greenfoot. These platforms are designed to support programming education and have been widely embraced by educational institutions.
Together with David J. Barnes, he co-wrote Objects First with Java and independently authored Introduction to Programming with Greenfoot, both textbooks emphasizing hands-on instruction in object-oriented programming utilizing his software tools.
At the 2010 ACM SIGCSE conference, Kölling’s development of the Blue programming language was acknowledged as one of the most impactful advancements in computer science education.
Microsoft patent issue
In May 2005, Kölling observed that Visual Studio 2005 introduced a design-time object feature resembling BlueJ’s object test bench. Although he did not respond immediately, by May 2006, Microsoft had applied for a patent on this concept. Approval of this patent could have threatened BlueJ’s fundamental features.
Kölling engaged directly with representatives from Microsoft, which resulted in the withdrawal of their patent application. Microsoft issued a public apology for the oversight and rescinded their patent claim, thereby safeguarding BlueJ's ongoing development and availability.
Awards and honours
Among his significant recognitions are:
- SIGCSE Test of Time Award (2020)
- Fellowship of the British Computer Society (FBCS)
- SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education (2013)
- Distinguished Member status within the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) (2011)
- National Teaching Fellowship awarded by the Higher Education Academy, UK (2008)
- Duke's Choice Award (2007), in the “Java Technology in Education” category
- Australasian Distinguished Dissertation Award (2000)
- Victorian Pearcey Award for BlueJ development (1999)