Allen, Frances E.

Frances E. Allen, (born August 4, 1932, Peru, New York, U.S.—died August 4, 2020), American computer scientist who was the first woman to win the A.M. Turing Award (2006), the highest honour in computer science, cited for her “pioneering contributions to the theory and practice of optimizing compiler techniques that laid the foundation for modern optimizing compilers and automatic parallel execution.”

Allen received a bachelor’s degree (1954) in mathematics from Albany State Teachers College (now the State University of New York, Albany) and a master’s degree (1957) in mathematics from the University of Michigan. Shortly after graduation Allen joined IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center, where she was first hired to teach staff scientists a new computer programming language named FORTRAN. During the 1960s Allen worked on compilers for IBM supercomputers, such as the IBM 7030 (known as Stretch) and the IBM 7950 (known as Harvest), that were ordered by the U.S. National Security Agency for delivery to Los Alamos National Laboratory. Much of her subsequent work concerned efficient computer programming for multiprocessing systems, especially her work with the Parallel TRANslation Group (PTRAN), which she founded in the early 1980s. She was named an IBM fellow in 1989, the first woman so honoured, and president of the IBM Academy of Technology (1995). Allen retired in 2002.

Throughout most of her career, Allen held visiting lectureships at various universities. She also served on the U.S. National Science Foundation (1972–78). Allen was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (1987), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Association for Computing Machinery, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society (2001). In addition to the Turing Award, Allen received the 2002 Augusta Ada Lovelace Award from the Association of Women in Computing.