Microsoft researcher wins the “Nobel Prize” of computing

Leslie Lamport, a principal researcher working out of Microsoft Research’s Silicon Valley lab, has been awarded the 2013 A.M. Turing Award. The award has been referred to as the Nobel Prize of computing and is named after the British mathematician and computer scientist who was a pioneer in the field. Lamport is the fifth scientist from Microsoft Research to win the Turing Award. 

The 2013 A.M. Turing Award, the highest honor in computer science, has been given to Microsoft Research’s Leslie Lamport, whose behind-the-scenes work brought new levels of reliability and consistency to the distributed computing systems that power many of today’s most popular apps and services. Lamport, 73, a Microsoft principal researcher based in Silicon Valley, is the fifth person from Microsoft Research to win the Turing Award, often described as the “Nobel Prize” of computer science. In a statement released by the company this morning, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates called the award “a well-deserved recognition for a remarkable scientist.”