Photo: International Centre for Theoretical Physics / CC BY 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Shor is, to me, a legend of theoretical computer science. His quantum factoring algorithm is one of those rare ideas that could one day unravel the encryption holding the modern internet together, which is staggering when you sit with it. The roll call of honours, the Gödel Prize, the Nevanlinna Medal, a MacArthur Fellowship, simply confirms the genius. A New York kid who went through Caltech and has taught at MIT since 2003. I cannot follow the mathematics myself, but I am in awe of a mind that sketched the map of future computing decades before the hardware caught up. A quiet revolutionary.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Peter Shor
- Name (Japanese)
- ピーター・ショア
- Reading
- ぴーたー・しょあ
- Born
- August 14, 1959 (age 66)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Boar
- Origin
- New York City, New York, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- mathematician / computer scientist / university teacher
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Tamalpais High School
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- MacArthur Fellows Program
- 1999 Gödel Prize
- 2002 King Faisal International Prize in Science
- 2010 Josiah Willard Gibbs Lectureship
- 1998 IMU Abacus Medal
- 1998 O'Reilly Open Source Award
- 1999 Dickson Prize in Science
- 1998 International Quantum Communication Award
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Shor's algorithm | — | |
| Notable work | CSS code | — | |
| Notable work | SMAWK algorithm | — | |
| Notable work | stabilizer code | — | |
| Notable work | quantum threshold theorem | — |
6. Links
- Official sitehttp://www-math.mit.edu/~shor/
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%94%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%82%A2
Frequently asked questions
When was Peter Shor born?
Born August 14, 1959 (age 66).
Where is Peter Shor from?
Peter Shor is from New York City, New York, United States.
What does Peter Shor do?
Peter Shor works as mathematician, computer scientist, university teacher.
What is Peter Shor known for?
Notable works include Shor's algorithm, CSS code, SMAWK algorithm.
Mathematician — see all → · Computer scientist — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-23
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.