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Jonathan Bowen

b. 1956

British computer scientist

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About Jonathan Bowen

Born 1956. Jonathan Bowen is a British computer scientist, engineer, writer, university teacher and researcher, known for Formal methods, Virtual Library museums pages and Z notation.

Jonathan P. Bowen (born March 14, 1956) is a British computer scientist and an Emeritus Professor at London South Bank University. His main contribution has been in formal methods, especially the Z notation. and was educated at the Dragon School, Bryanston School, prior to his matriculation at University College, Oxford (Oxford University) where he received the MA degree in Engineering Science. He was chair of the Z User Group from the early 2000s until 2011. In 2002, Bowen was elected chair of the British Computer Society FACS Specialist Group on Formal Aspects of Computing Science. From 2005, Bowen was an associate editor-in-chief of the journal Innovations in Systems and Software Engineering. He was also an associate editor on the editorial board for the ACM Computing Surveys journal, covering software engineering and formal methods. From 2008 to 2009, he was an Associate at Praxis High Integrity Systems, working on a large industrial project using the Z notation.

Bowen's other major interest is the area of online museums. In 1994, he founded the Virtual Library museums pages (VLmp), an online museums directory that was soon adopted by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). Shortly after, he also started the Virtual Museum of Computing. In 2002, he founded Museophile Limited to help museums, especially online, for example with discussion forums.

From 2000 to 2006, Bowen headed the Centre for Applied Formal Methods as Professor of Computing at London South Bank University. From 2002, Bowen has also been the chairman of Museophile Limited and from 2017 he has been an adjunct professor at Southwest University in Chongqing, China. He has been a professor of Computer Science at Birmingham City University, Visiting Professor at the Pratt Institute (New York City), University of Westminster and King's College London, and a visiting academic at University College London.

Bowen has also worked in industry at Oxford Instruments, Marconi Instruments, Logica, Silicon Graphics, and Altran Praxis.

Recognition In 1994, Bowen received the IEE Charles Babbage Premium for the best paper in the Software Engineering Journal.

Selected books Jonathan Bowen has written and edited a number of books, including:

Bowen, J.P., editor, Towards Verified Systems. Elsevier Science, Real-Time Safety Critical Systems series, volume 2, 1994. . Hinchey, M.G. and Bowen, J.P., editors, Applications of Formal Methods. Prentice Hall International Series in Computer Science, 1995. . Bowen, J.P., Formal Specification and Documentation using Z: A Case Study Approach. International Thomson Computer Press, International Thomson Publishing, 1996. . Bowen, J.P. and Hinchey, M.G., editors, High-Integrity System Specification and Design. Springer-Verlag, London, FACIT series, 1999. . Hinchey, M.G. and Bowen, J.P., editors, Industrial-Strength Formal Methods in Practice. Springer-Verlag, London, FACIT series, 1999. . Hierons, R., Bowen, J.P., and Harman, M., editors, Formal Methods and Testing. Springer-Verlag, LNCS, Volume 4949, 2008. . Börger, E., Butler, M., Bowen, J.P., and Boca, P., editors, Abstract State Machines, B and Z. Springer-Verlag, LNCS, Volume 5238, 2008. . Boca, P.P., Bowen, J.P., and Siddiqi, J.I., editors, Formal Methods: State of the Art and New Directions. Springer, 2010. , e-. Bowen, J.P., Keene, S., and Ng, K., editors, Electronic Visualisation in Arts and Culture. Springer Series on Cultural Computing, Springer, 2013. . Copeland, J., Bowen, J.P., Sprevak, M., Wilson, R., et al., The Turing Guide. Oxford University Press, 2017. (hardcover), (paperback). Hinchey, M.G., Bowen, J.P., Olderog, E.-R., editors, Provably Correct Systems. Springer International Publishing, NASA Monographs in Systems and Software Engineering series, 2017.. Giannini, T. and Bowen, J.P., editors, Museums and Digital Culture: New Perspectives and Research. Springer Series on Cultural Computing, Springer, 2019. , e-. Giannini, T. and Bowen, J.P., editors, The Arts and Computational Culture: Real and Virtual Worlds. Springer Series on Cultural Computing, Springer, 2024. , e-,

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Known for
Formal methods, Virtual Library museums pages, Z notation
Education
Dragon School, University College, Oxford, Bryanston School, University of Oxford
Positions held
Director
Employers
University College London, Imperial College London, King's College London, Birmingham City University
Awards
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts; Fellow of the British Computer Society; Liveryman; Charles Babbage Premium
Also known as
Jonathan P. Bowen, J. P. Bowen

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Jonathan Bowen's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Jonathan Bowen?

British computer scientist

When was Jonathan Bowen born?

Jonathan Bowen was born on 14 March 1956 in Oxford.

What is Jonathan Bowen's occupation?

Jonathan Bowen is a computer scientist, engineer, writer, university teacher and researcher.

What is Jonathan Bowen known for?

Jonathan Bowen is known for Formal methods, Virtual Library museums pages and Z notation.

What nationality is Jonathan Bowen?

Jonathan Bowen is British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Jonathan Bowen

· Wikidata: Q93043

· DBpedia: Jonathan Bowen

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jonathan Bowen. https://biography.guide/jonathan-bowen/

MLA: "Jonathan Bowen." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jonathan-bowen/.

Chicago: "Jonathan Bowen." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jonathan-bowen/.

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