Leonard Shapiro
Leonard D. Shapiro is an American computer scientist and professor emeritus of computer science at Portland State University. He is known for his contributions to database systems, particularly in the areas of query processing and optimization.
Education
Shapiro graduated from Reed College in 1965, Phi Beta Kappa. He earned a doctor of philosophy from Yale University in 1969.Career
Shapiro held positions at the University of Minnesota from 1969 to 1977 and North Dakota State University from 1977 to 1987. He served as the chairman of the Division of Mathematical Sciences at North Dakota State University from 1977 to 1985.In 1987, Shapiro joined Portland State University as a professor of computer science, where he also served as department chair from 1987 to 1994. He later became the director of the Data Intensive Systems Center.
Research and contributions
Shapiro's research has significantly impacted database systems, particularly in the areas of query processing, optimization, and main memory databases. His work spans computer science, economics, statistics, and mathematics.One of his most cited works is "Implementation techniques for main memory database systems", co-authored with David J. DeWitt and others, which explored the changes necessary for relational database systems to take advantage of large amounts of main memory.
Other notable contributions include research on join processing in database systems with large main memories, and work on data compression and database performance.