Solomon W. Golomb

Solomon W. Golomb
Born	Solomon Wolf Golomb (1932-05-30)May 30, 1932 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Died	May 1, 2016(2016-05-01) (aged 83) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Johns Hopkins University Harvard University
Awards	Claude E. Shannon Award (1985) IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal (2000) National Medal of Science (2011)
Scientific career
Fields	Mathematics, engineering
Institutions	University of Southern California
Doctoral advisor	David Widder

Solomon Wolf Golomb (/ɡəloʊm/;^[1] May 30, 1932 – May 1, 2016) was an American mathematician, engineer, and professor of electrical engineering at the University of Southern California, best known for his works on mathematical games.^[2] Most notably, he invented Cheskers (a hybrid between chess and checkers) in 1948. He also fully described polyominoes in 1953.^[3][4] He specialized in problems of combinatorial analysis, number theory, coding theory, and communications. Pentomino boardgames, based on his work, would go on to inspire Tetris.^[5]