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Richard E. Stearns
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Richard E. Stearns

Co-founder of computational complexity theory with Juris Hartmanis

5 July 1936 – 29 August 2026 United States Verified by our editors
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Lived
90 yrs
1936 – 2026
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2
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Richard Stearns was an American computer scientist who, with Juris Hartmanis, wrote the 1965 paper that founded computational complexity theory. He shared the 1993 Turing Award with Hartmanis and later taught at the University at Albany.

Biography

Education

Stearns studied mathematics at Carleton College and earned his PhD at Princeton in 1961 with a thesis on game theory.

Complexity theory

At General Electric’s research laboratory he worked with Juris Hartmanis on “On the Computational Complexity of Algorithms” (1965). The paper defined how to measure the time an algorithm needs and showed a hierarchy of increasingly hard problems, laying the foundations of complexity theory.

Later research

Stearns also worked on automata, formal languages and game theory, receiving the Frederick W. Lanchester Prize in 1995 for work with Robert Aumann on repeated games. He joined the State University of New York at Albany in 1978.

Legacy

He shared the 1993 Turing Award with Hartmanis. He died on 29 August 2026, aged 90.

Timeline

  1. 1936

    Born in Caldwell, New Jersey, United States

  2. 1961

    PhD from Princeton

  3. 1965

    Complexity paper with Hartmanis

  4. 1978

    Joins the University at Albany

  5. 1993

    Turing Award

  6. 1995

    Lanchester Prize

  7. 2026

    Died, aged 90

Notable works

  • 1965

    On the Computational Complexity of Algorithms Paper

    With Juris Hartmanis.

  • 1995

    Repeated Games with Incomplete Information Book

    With Robert Aumann and Michael Maschler.

Awards and honours

  • Turing Award

    1993

  • Frederick W. Lanchester Prize

    1995

Did you know?

  1. 1

    His PhD was in game theory.

  2. 2

    His game theory collaborator Robert Aumann later won the Nobel Prize in economics.

  3. 3

    He spent most of his teaching career at Albany.

Connections

Also born on 5 July

Frequently asked

Who is Richard E. Stearns?

Richard Stearns was an American computer scientist who, with Juris Hartmanis, wrote the 1965 paper that founded computational complexity theory. He shared the 1993 Turing Award with Hartmanis and later taught at the University at Albany.

When did Richard E. Stearns die?

Richard E. Stearns died on 29 August 2026 at the age of 90.

Where is Richard E. Stearns from?

Richard E. Stearns was born in Caldwell, New Jersey, United States.

What is Richard E. Stearns known for?

Richard E. Stearns is best known for Founding computational complexity theory; Turing Award 1993.

What awards has Richard E. Stearns received?

Notable honours include Turing Award (1993), Frederick W. Lanchester Prize (1995).

References

  1. Richard E. Stearns — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  2. Richard E. Stearns — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  3. Richard E. Stearns — Goodreads author page. Goodreads. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  4. Official website. www.cs.albany.edu. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  5. Richard E. Stearns (Q92822) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.

Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Richard E. Stearns”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more

External links

Official website Website Wikipedia
Filed under Complexity theoryTuring Award Computer ScientistMathematicianProfessor

About this profile

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“Richard E. Stearns.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/richard-e-stearns

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