Mark Adler

Mark Adler (born 1959) is an American software engineer. He is best known for his work in the field of data compression as the author of the Adler-32 checksum function, and a co-author, together with Jean-Loup Gailly, of the zlib compression library and gzip. He has contributed to Info-ZIP, and has participated in developing the Portable Network Graphics (PNG) image format. Adler was also the Spirit Cruise Mission Manager for the Mars Exploration Rover mission.

Early life and education Adler was born in Miami, Florida and raised as the only child of David and Bertha Adler. Adler earned his Bachelor of Science in mathematics and Master of Science in electrical engineering degrees from the University of Florida in 1981 and 1985, respectively. In 1990, Adler earned his Ph.D. in physics from the California Institute of Technology.

Personal life and interests Adler is an instrument-rated private pilot, a certified scuba diver, and an amateur theater actor.

He is married to Diana St. James. They live in La Cañada, California. They have two children, Joshua and Zachary. St. James works at the California Institute of Technology and acts in and directs theatrical performances.