T. C. Hu
Te Chiang Hu | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1930 Beijing, China |
| Died | 2021 |
| Occupation(s) | Computer scientist, operations researcher |
| Years active | 1960–2007 (retired), continued scholarly activity thereafter |
| Known for | Contributions to network flow problems, Gomory–Hu tree, multi-commodity flow problem, algorithms for scheduling, widest path problem, optimal binary search trees, matrix chain multiplication |
Te Chiang Hu (, 1930–2021) was a Taiwanese-American expert in computer science and operations research, recognized for his significant advancements in the development and evaluation of algorithms. His notable contributions to network flow problems encompassed the representation of all pairwise flows through the Gomory–Hu tree, pioneering the multi-commodity flow problem formulation, and authoring a fundamental textbook on flow problems. Hu also introduced key algorithms addressing scheduling of tree-structured tasks, the widest path problem, optimal binary search tree construction, linear arrangements of trees and graphs, minimum routing cost spanning trees, and the matrix chain multiplication challenge.
Early life and education
Hu was born in Beijing in 1930 and relocated to Taiwan during the late 1940s following the retreat of the Republic of China to Taiwan. He obtained his bachelor's degree in engineering from National Taiwan University in 1953. Subsequently, he earned a master's degree at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1956 and completed his doctorate at Brown University in 1960. His Ph.D. thesis, titled Optimum design for structures of perfectly-plastic materials, was guided by advisor Richard Thorpe Shield.
Career and later life
From 1960 until 1966, Hu was employed at IBM Research, where he also consulted for the RAND Corporation. During this period, he collaborated with Ralph E. Gomory to develop the Gomory–Hu tree. In 1966, Hu joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, achieving full professorship in computer science by 1968. His influential book on network flow problems was published in 1969.
In 1974, Hu transitioned to the University of California, San Diego, initially contributing to Applied Electro-Physics before playing a key role in establishing its Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Throughout his tenure there, he mentored eight doctoral candidates, including Frank Ruskey. In 1982, he released an additional algorithms textbook and collaborated with M. T. Shing on matrix chain multiplication algorithms during the early 1980s. Returning to themes related to his dissertation, Hu published research on minimal surfaces with finite thickness using network flow techniques in 1992 and received a best-paper award in 1995 for work on circuit partitioning. Although he retired in 2007, Hu continued scholarly activity, including coauthoring a book on linear programming with his student Andrew Kahng.
He died in October 2021.
Recognition
In 2013, Hu was named a Fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). His impact on the discipline was further acknowledged through a dedicated session at the 2018 International Symposium on Physical Design.
Research papers
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External links
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1930 births
- 2021 deaths
- Chinese emigrants to the United States
- Chinese computer scientists
- American computer scientists
- Operations researchers
- National Taiwan University alumni
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni
- Brown University alumni
- IBM Research computer scientists
- University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty
- Fellows of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences