NAS Adds Golomb to Its Numbers
By Bob Calverley, USC School of Engineering
University Professor Solomon Golomb, a specialist in communications theory whose work has become a key tool in applications ranging from radar to cellular telephones, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).
Golomb came to USC in 1963 and has served in numerous academic capacities. He is a professor of mathematics in USC College and holder of the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Chair in Communications in the USC School of Engineering.
USC College Dean Joseph Aoun hails Golomb’s election to the NAS. “This is wonderful news for us because it verifies what we have been saying: Our faculty are world class,” he says. “Sol’s election marks the third year in a row that college faculty have been so honored. Richard Easterlin was elected last year and Michael Waterman the year before.”
The election of Golomb brings the number of USC College faculty who are members of the NAS to 11. Golomb also has the rare distinction of membership in both the NAS and the National Academy of Engineering. Andrew Viterbi, a member of the USC board of trustees who studied with Golomb, is also a member of both academies.
“A researcher of his caliber would be a standout member of the faculty of any university in the world,” says C.L. “Max” Nikias, dean of USC’s engineering school. “He chose to spend almost his entire career—and do most of his best work—at USC, and both we and the world of science are richer for it.”
Golomb’s worldwide fame in communications theory rests on the continuing significance of research he began more than 40 years ago. What started as an exercise in pure mathematics has become a front-line communication tool in applications ranging from radar to cellular phones and cryptography.
In addition to Golomb’s classic work in developing the study of shift-register sequences—both as a practical communications tool and as a mathematical discipline—he enjoys an international reputation as an expert on puzzles and mathematical games. He is the inventor and acknowledged master of a popular puzzle game called polyominoes, in which a small number of puzzle pieces are used to tile surfaces or create patterns, and has been involved in many other puzzle areas as well. For years, he contributed a mathematical game column to the Los Angeles Times.
Golomb earned his bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University, and his master’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard University, all in mathematics.
Throughout his career, he has served as a consultant to numerous government agencies, including NASA, the U.S. Army and the U.S. Department of Transportation. He has received numerous medals, awards and honorary degrees in recognition of his research.
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