Cleve B. Moler

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Cleve Moler
Moler in 2017
Born
Cleve Barry Moler

(1939-08-17)August 17, 1939
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
DiedMay 20, 2026(2026-05-20) (aged 86)
Saint Michaels, Maryland, U.S.
Education
Known forMATLAB
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics, computer science
Institutions
ThesisFinite difference methods for the eigenvalues of Laplace's operator (1965)
George Forsythe
Doctoral students
  • Norman Schryer
  • Alan Cline
  • Charles Crawford
  • David Kammler
  • Stanley Eisenstat
  • Linda Kaufman
  • Charles F. Van Loan
  • Charles Burris, Jr.
  • James Sanderson
  • John Starner, Jr.
  • George Davis
  • Jack Dongarra
  • Ronal Jones
  • Augustine Dubrulle
  • Humberto Madrid

Cleve Barry Moler (August 17, 1939 – May 20, 2026) was an American mathematician and computer programmer who specialized in numerical analysis. In the mid to late 1970s, he was one of the authors of LINPACK and EISPACK, Fortran libraries for numerical computing. He created MATLAB, a numerical computing package, to give his students at the University of New Mexico easy access to these libraries without writing Fortran. In 1984, he co-founded MathWorks with Jack Little to commercialize this program.[1]

Life and career

Cleve Barry Moler was born on August 17, 1939, in Salt Lake City, Utah.[2] He received his bachelor's degree from California Institute of Technology in 1961, and a Ph.D. in 1965 from Stanford University, both in mathematics.[3] He worked for Charles Lawson at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1961 and 1962.

He was a professor of mathematics and computer science for almost 20 years at the University of Michigan, Stanford University, and the University of New Mexico.[4] Before joining MathWorks full-time in 1989, he also worked for Intel Hypercube, where he coined the term "embarrassingly parallel", and Ardent Computer Corporation. He is also co-author of four textbooks on numerical methods and was a member of the Association for Computing Machinery. He was president of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics 2007–2008.[5]

Moler was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering on February 14, 1997, for conceiving and developing widely used mathematical software. He received an honorary degree from Linköping University, Sweden. He received an honorary degree of Doctor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo in 2001.[6] On April 30, 2004, he was named Honorary Doctor (doctor technices, honoris causa) by the Technical University of Denmark.[7] In 2009, he was recognized by Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics as a SIAM Fellow for his outstanding contributions to numerical analysis and software, including the invention of MATLAB.[8] In April 2012, the IEEE Computer Society named Moler the recipient of the 2012 Computer Pioneer Award.[9] In February 2014, IEEE awarded Moler the 2014 IEEE John von Neumann Medal.[10] In April 2017, he was made Fellow of the Computer History Museum.[11][12]

Moler died on May 20, 2026, at his home in Saint Michaels, Maryland, of complications from Parkinson’s disease at the age of 86.[13][2]

Publications

References

  1. Schwan, Henry. "MathWorks in Natick marks its 35th anniversary". MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  2. "Cleve Moler, Who Unlocked the Power of Computing for Millions, Dies at 86". The New York Times. June 11, 2026. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
  3. Cleve Moler Elected Next SIAM President Archived 2015-01-17 at the Wayback Machine, News of SIAM, December 16, 2005
  4. Math whiz stamps profound imprint on computing world Archived 2009-02-05 at the Wayback Machine, New Mexico Business Weekly, January 30, 2009
  5. SIAM Presidents http://www.siam.org/about/more/presidents.php Archived 2018-01-03 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Doctor of Mathematics Honorary Degree Recipients". University of Waterloo. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  7. "Honorary doctorates". DTU, Technical University of Denmark. Retrieved June 13, 2026.
  8. "SIAM Fellows". SIAM. Retrieved June 13, 2026.
  9. MATLAB Creator Cleve Moler Wins Computer Pioneer Award Archived 2014-08-26 at the Wayback Machine, IEEE Computer Press Release, April 11, 2012
  10. Recipients of the 2014 Medals and Awards Archived 2014-02-24 at the Wayback Machine, IEEE Computer Press Release, February 14, 2014
  11. Spicer, Dag (April 6, 2017). "2017 CHM Fellow Cleve Moler: Mozart of the Matrix". Computer History Museum. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  12. Computer History Museum (August 4, 2017). "Cleve Moler - 2017 CHM Fellow". YouTube. Archived from the original on January 4, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  13. "Cleve Moler, Chief Mathematician". Mathworks. Retrieved June 11, 2026.