Peter Williston Shor (born August 14, 1959) is an American scientist who studies how computers work. He is best known for creating Shor's algorithm, a special method that uses quantum computers to solve certain math problems much faster than regular computers. Since 2003, he has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a professor of applied mathematics.
Early life and education
Shor was born on August 14, 1959, in New York City, to Joan Bopp Shor and S. W. Williston Shor. He lived in Washington, D.C., and Mill Valley, California. While going to Tamalpais High School, he came in third place in the 1977 USA Mathematical Olympiad. After graduating that year, he won a silver medal at the International Math Olympiad in Yugoslavia. The U.S. team earned the most points per country that year.
Shor earned a B.S. in mathematics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 1981. He was a Putnam Fellow in 1978. He then studied applied mathematics at MIT for his doctoral degree, completing it in 1985. His doctoral advisor was F. Thomson Leighton. His thesis focused on the probabilistic analysis of bin-packing algorithms.
Career
After earning his PhD from MIT, he worked for one year as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. He then accepted a job at Bell Labs in New Providence, New Jersey. It was there that he created Shor's algorithm. This development was influenced by Simon's problem. Shor first discovered an efficient quantum algorithm for the discrete log problem (which connects solving problems related to shapes in mathematics).
Both of these problems are examples of the Hidden Subgroup Problem (HSP). For his work in creating efficient quantum algorithms for factoring and discrete logarithm, he received the Nevanlinna Prize at the 23rd International Congress of Mathematicians in 1998 and the Gödel Prize in 1999. In 1999, he was given a MacArthur Fellowship. In 2017, he was honored with the Dirac Medal from the ICTP, and in 2019, he received the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences.
Shor started his position at MIT in 2003. Today, he is the Henry Adams Morss and Henry Adams Morss, Jr. Professor of Applied Mathematics in the Department of Mathematics at MIT. He also works with CSAIL.
He was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from Caltech in 2007.
On October 1, 2011, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was named an ACM Fellow in 2019 "for contributions to quantum-computing, information theory, and randomized algorithms." He joined the National Academy of Sciences in 2002. In 2020, he became a member of the National Academy of Engineering for pioneering work in quantum computation.
In an interview published in Nature on October 30, 2020, Shor stated that he believes post-quantum cryptography is a way to address the risks posed by quantum technology, though significant effort is needed to replace current methods.
Along with three others, Shor was awarded the 2023 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for "foundational work in the field of quantum information."