Dr.Herbert Edelsbrunner is a young computer scientist who has already made fundamental contributions to the emerging field of computational geometry. The Alan T. Waterman award committee has recommended Dr. Edelsbrunner for this award, selecting him from among 97 nominees. This award carries a grant of $500,000 for three years. Dr. Edelsbrunner will be the sixteenth recipient of the Alan T. Waterman award. Dr. Edelsbrunner is a pioneer in the field of computational geometry which deals with the representation and manipulation of geometric shapes and patterns. Coping with the real-world objects requires taking into consideration their real geometries rather than treating them as idealized, oversimplified shapes. Computational geometry is thus going to be of utmost importance in computational science and computer-aided design. Dr. Edelsbrunner has had a tremendous impact on computational geometry by his own research as well as by his l987 book Algorithms in Combinatorial Geometry which systematized the field in its early days. This book is considered by many people to be still the best textbook and reference source on computational geometry. He has also influenced the field by being active professionally in it. He has organized a number of conferences and workshops on the subject. He has also served as editor for several journals on computational geometry and related subjects. There is no question that Dr. Edelsbrunner's work is of the highest research quality and is having far-reaching impact. This award is highly recommended.
