The Making of a New Science A Personal Journey Through the Early Years of Theoretical Computer Science

This book explains the development of theoretical computer science in its early stages, specifically from 1965 to 1990. The author is among the pioneers of theoretical computer science, and he guides the reader through the early stages of development of this new discipline. He explains the origins of the field, arising from disciplines such as logic, mathematics, and electronics, and he describes the evolution of the key principles of computing in strands such as computability, algorithms, and programming.

But mainly it's a story about people – pioneers with diverse backgrounds and characters came together to overcome philosophical and institutional challenges and build a community. They collaborated on research efforts, they established schools and conferences, they developed the first related university courses, they taught generations of future researchers and practitioners, and they set up the key publications to communicate and archive their knowledge.

The book is a fascinating insight into the field as it existed and evolved, it will be valuable reading for anyone interested in the history of computing.

Giorgio Ausiello is Professor Emeritus in the Dipartimento di Ingegneria Informatica, Automatica e Gestionale, Università di Roma "La Sapienza". He has coauthored numerous formal academic journal and conference publications, and his book publications include the Springer titles "Complexity and Approximation" published in 2000 and "The Power of Algorithms" published in 2013. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the leading journal Elsevier journal "Theoretical Computer Science", Part A, and is the co-Editor-in-Chief of the Springer LNCS series "Advanced Research in Computing and Software Science". He has chaired many related conferences and research groups, and he was a founding member of the European Association for Theoretical Computer Science (EATCS), and its President from 2006 to 2009. His main research interests include on-line algorithms, approximation algorithms, dynamic graph algorithms, optimization problems in vehicle routing and logistics, and streaming algorithms; he has also researched and published on programming theory, computational complexity, and database theory.