Edward Reingold

Edward Reingold is a professor of Computer Science & Applied Mathematics at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). He holds a PhD from Cornell University and spent over 30 years as faculty at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (CS @ ILLINOIS), where he made foundational contributions to computer science theory. His research focuses on algorithms, data structures, and graph drawing techniques like force-directed placement, which are widely used in network visualization across scientific and social domains.

He authored influential textbooks such as Combinatorial Algorithms (translated into multiple languages) and Calendrical Calculations, now in its fourth edition. He contributed to GNU Emacs's calendar/diary functionality and other software packages. Reingold served as Department Head of IIT's Computer Science department for six years before returning to full-time faculty.

Recognized as an ACM Fellow, he also received the 2016 Distinguished Academic Achievement Alumni Award. His work on Operation Match, the first computerized dating system, was highlighted by the BBC in 2014. He credits this system with connecting him to his late wife Ruth, with whom he shared 47 years of marriage, raising four daughters and 12 grandchildren.