K. D. Tocher
British computer scientist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Keith Douglas "Toch"[3] Tocher (19 March 1921 – 30 December 1981) was a computer scientist known for contributions to computer simulation.[4]
K. D. Tocher | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 March 1921[1][2] |
| Died | 30 December 1981 (aged 60)[2] |
| Education | University of London |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | computer simulation |
| Workplaces | University of Southampton[2] |
| Thesis | The design and statistical analysis of experiments (1952) |
Doctoral students | Meir M. Lehman |
Tocher received a first-class BSc in mathematics in 1941 from University College London, a BSc in statistics in 1946 from University of London, and a PhD in 1952 at Imperial College London.[5][2]
In 1958, he worked for United Steel Companies under Anthony Stafford Beer,[2] and developed the first discrete-event simulation package, the General Simulation Program (GSP), a program that used a common structure to execute a range of simulations.[4][6]
He was appointed professor of operational research at the University of Southampton in 1980.[5] He was awarded the silver medal of the Operational Research Society in 1967 and served as president from 1972 to 1973.[5]
Tocher was also one of the creators of the SRT division algorithm that is used in the hardware of many modern computers.[7][8]