John Hopcroft
Computer scientist known for fundamental algorithms and a classic textbook
- Age
- 87 yrs
- Birthday in 335 days
- Works listed
- 2
- Book
- Honours
- 3
- Most recent 2016
- Profile views
- 2
- 0 followers
John Hopcroft is an American computer scientist whose work with Robert Tarjan on graph algorithms earned them the 1986 Turing Award. His textbooks on automata theory and algorithms, written with Jeffrey Ullman and Alfred Aho, have been used by generations of students.
Biography
Education
Hopcroft studied electrical engineering at Seattle University and earned his PhD at Stanford in 1964.
Education in China
Hopcroft, a long-time Cornell professor, has worked with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and other Chinese universities to improve computer science education, receiving China’s Friendship Award in 2016.
Algorithms
At Princeton and Cornell he designed efficient algorithms, including the Hopcroft–Karp algorithm for matching and, with Robert Tarjan, a linear-time test for whether a graph can be drawn flat without crossings. Their work showed the power of depth-first search.
Textbooks
With Jeffrey Ullman he wrote Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation, and with Aho and Ullman The Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms. Both became standard texts.
Timeline
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1939
Born in Seattle, Washington, United States
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1964
PhD from Stanford
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1967
Joins Cornell
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1973
Planarity test with Tarjan
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1979
Automata theory textbook with Ullman
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1986
Turing Award
-
2010
IEEE John von Neumann Medal
-
2016
China’s Friendship Award
Notable works
-
1974
The Design and Analysis of Computer Algorithms Book
With Alfred Aho and Jeffrey Ullman.
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1979
Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation Book
With Jeffrey Ullman.
Awards and honours
-
Turing Award
1986
-
IEEE John von Neumann Medal
2010
-
Friendship Award
2016
Did you know?
-
1
The Hopcroft–Karp algorithm is used for matching problems such as job assignments.
-
2
He served on the US National Science Board.
-
3
He has spent much of his later career improving teaching in China.
Connections
Related people
-
Robert Tarjan
Science · Computer scientist who designed many of the fundamental graph algorithms and data structures
Turing Award co-recipient
- Jeffrey Ullman Science · Stanford computer scientist and textbook author on compilers, databases and algorithms Textbook co-author
- Alfred Aho Science · Canadian computer scientist, author of the “Dragon Book” and co-creator of AWK Textbook co-author
-
Richard M. Karp
Science · Computer scientist who showed that many everyday problems are NP-complete
Co-creator of Hopcroft–Karp
Also born on 7 October
Frequently asked
Who is John Hopcroft?
John Hopcroft is an American computer scientist whose work with Robert Tarjan on graph algorithms earned them the 1986 Turing Award. His textbooks on automata theory and algorithms, written with Jeffrey Ullman and Alfred Aho, have been used by generations of students.
How old is John Hopcroft?
John Hopcroft is 87 years old, born on 7 October 1939 in Seattle, Washington, United States.
Where is John Hopcroft from?
John Hopcroft was born in Seattle, Washington, United States.
What is John Hopcroft known for?
John Hopcroft is best known for Graph algorithms; automata theory textbook; Turing Award 1986.
What awards has John Hopcroft received?
Notable honours include Turing Award (1986), IEEE John von Neumann Medal (2010), Friendship Award (2016).
References
- John Hopcroft — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- John Hopcroft — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Official website. www.cs.cornell.edu. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- John Hopcroft (Q62874) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “John Hopcroft”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“John Hopcroft.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/john-hopcroft
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