K. D. Tocher

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
Born19 March 1921[1][2]
Died30 December 1981 (aged 60)[2]
Alma materUniversity of London
Scientific career
Fieldscomputer simulation
InstitutionsUniversity of Southampton[2]
ThesisThe design and statistical analysis of experiments (1952)
Doctoral studentsMeir 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 1972–73.[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]

References
  1. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  2. Rivett, B. H. P. (1982). "Professor K. D. Tocher, 1921–1981". Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A (General). 145 (4): 525–526. JSTOR 2982123.
  3. Medina, Eden (2011). Cybernetic Revolutionaries:Technology and Politics in Allende's Chile. MIT Press. p. 248. ISBN 978-0262016490.
  4. Robinson, S.; Taylor, S. J. E. (2008). "Celebrating 50 years of simulation software". Journal of Simulation. 2 (3): 127. doi:10.1057/jos.2008.16.
  5. Hollocks, B. W. (2008). "Intelligence, innovation and integrity— KD Tocher and the dawn of simulation". Journal of Simulation. 2 (3): 128–137. doi:10.1057/jos.2008.15. S2CID 56974328.
  6. Rosenhead, J. (2006). "IFORS' Operational Research Hall of Fame Stafford Beer". International Transactions in Operational Research. 13 (6): 577–581. doi:10.1111/j.1475-3995.2006.00565.x.
  7. Harris, David L.; Oberman, Stuart F.; Horowitz, Mark A. (9 September 1998). SRT Division: Architectures, Models, and Implementations (PDF) (Technical report). Stanford University.
  8. Tocher, K.D. (1 January 1958). "Techniques of Multiplication and Division for Automatic Binary Computers". The Quarterly Journal of Mechanics and Applied Mathematics. 11 (3): 364–384. doi:10.1093/qjmam/11.3.364.
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