Claude Elwood Shannon

Developer of Information Theory, the basis for the design of communication systems and networks, Shannon also noted the importance of Boolean theory for the design of logic circuits whilst still a student and designed digital circuits as early as 1937. Shannon was named a National Research Fellow and spent a year at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study.

In addition to his work at Bell Laboratories, Shannon spent many years teaching at MIT. He was a visiting professor of electrical communication in 1956, and then in 1957 he was named professor of communications sciences and mathematics. In 1958 Shannon returned to MIT as Donner Professor of Science until he retired.

Throughout his life, Shannon received many honors including the Morris Liebmann Memorial Award in 1949, the Ballantine Medal in 1955, and the Mervin J. Kelly Award of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers in 1962. In addition, he was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1966, as well as the Medal of Honor that same year from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He also received the Jacquard Award in 1978, the John Fritz Medal in 1983, and the Kyoto Prize in Basic Science in 1985, along with numerous other prizes and over a dozen honorary degrees.

Shannon was also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the American Philosophical Society, and the Royal Society of London.