Taylor Booth

Taylor Lockwood Booth (September 22, 1933 – October 20, 1986) was a mathematician known for his work in automata theory.

One of his fundamental works is Sequential Machines and Automata Theory (1967). It is a wide-ranging book meant for specialists, written for both theoretical computer scientists as well as electrical engineers. It deals with state minimization techniques, finite-state machines, Turing machines, Markov processes, and undecidability.

Education Booth studied at the University of Connecticut, where he received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.

Professional career At his alma mater Booth was professor at the Computer Science and Engineering department.

Booth was the first president of the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board, founded in 1984 and since renamed to CSAB.

Awards and honors Professor Booth received following awards and honors: The IEEE Centennial Medal from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 1984. The Distinguished Service Award from the IEEE Computer Society in 1985, for his accreditation work.

Taylor L. Booth Education Award After Booth's death, the IEEE Computer Society established the Taylor L. Booth Education Award, to keep his name in memory. The award is given annually for individuals with an "outstanding record in computer science and engineering education".