Bjarne Stroustrup, the inventor of C++, is the 2017 winner of the Faraday Medal is the most prestigious award of the UK-based Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Named for Michael Faraday (1791 - 1867) whose work led directly to the modern electric motor, the Faraday Medal is awarded either for notable scientific or industrial achievement in engineering or for conspicuous service rendered to the advancement of science, engineering and technology or for lifetime achievement in science, engineering or technology.

Recipients are presented with a bronze medal and a vellum scroll and are invited to sign the Roll of Honor album which contains the photographs and signatures of all IET Honorary Fellows and Faraday Medallists since the inception of these awards in 1922. Previous winners include Donald Knuth (2011), Sir Maurice Wilkes (1981) and Robert Noyce (1979).

The citation states:

 Dr. Stroustrup pioneered the C++ programming language, one of the most influential programming languages in the history of computing. C++ revolutionized the software industry globally, through its versatile, efficient, and innovative abstraction techniques, including object-oriented programming and generic programming. It impacted millions of programmers and numerous industries globally, including software infrastructure, web services, telecommunications, microelectronics, scientific computing, finance, defense, aviation, image processing, music, movie making, gaming, and medical systems and allowed the development of truly remarkable technologies.

Danish-born Stroustrup is currently a Visiting Professor in Computer Science at Columbia University. His publications include The C++ Programming Language (4th Edition, 2013), A Tour of C++ (2013)and  Programming: Principles and Practice using C++ (2014), the latter two of which have been reviewed by the I Programmer team.

Previous recognition for his achievements include being awarded the Dahl-Nygaard Prize in 2015 and being made a fellow of the Computer History Museum, also in 2015. The Computer History Museum shared this video of a 1994 video in which Stroustrup discusses the Design of C++. 

Commenting on receiving the Faraday Medal, which will take place at an awards ceremony in November, Stroustrup said:

“I am honored and humbled to see my name among so many illustrious previous winners of the prize. This privilege is only possible through the superb work of the C++ community.”

More Information

Bjarne Stroustrup awarded 2017 Faraday Medal

IET Awards - Faraday Medal

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Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++, 2e (book review) 

A Tour of C++ (book review)

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