E. Emerson

1954 - 2024

Ernest "Allen" Emerson II, of Austin, Texas, died peacefully at his home on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. Allen was born in Dallas, Texas on June 2, 1954, to Ernest Allen and Ina Lee Emerson. He attended Dallas public schools graduating first in his 1972 David W. Carter High School class. He furthered his education at The University of Texas Austin where in 1976 he received a B.S. in mathematics. In 1981 he received a Ph.D. from Harvard University in Applied Mathematics.

In the course of his Ph.D. research at Harvard, Allen co-invented "Model Checking," an automated method for a computer to verify whether a (given) program meets its correctness and security requirements. The invention of model checking was a revolutionary advance. Correctness proofs that would have taken days or weeks to construct by hand could now be done automatically in a few seconds. For his part in the creation of model checking, Allen was named a joint winner of the Turing Award, the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in computer science, in 2007.

Model checking is routinely applied today to find errors in computer chips, network protocols, and critical software modules. Allen was deeply involved in the development and growth of model checking, introducing new temporal logics that made it easier to describe program properties and new algorithms that made it possible to check complex programs. Allen also made several other foundational contributions to computer science and artificial intelligence and is widely regarded as an intellectual giant in the formal methods and verification community.

Allen was an inspirational teacher who challenged students to be deliberate and rigorous thinkers. He used a deductive style of teaching in graduate classes, called the Moore method, where students would solve problems on their own without the aid of a textbook.

Allen advised 15 Ph.D. students at UT Austin, who have gone on to careers in academia, research, and industry, and whose lives and careers have been deeply influenced by what they learned from him. His mentoring footprint extends to nearly 60 academic "grandchildren" (Ph.D. graduates advised by his students) and seven great-grandchildren.

He shared a warm camaraderie with his students, interacting with them as he would with his peers and friends. Outside of spirited technical discussions and life lessons such as "You have to bang your head on it (a problem) till it breaks" and "Be Bold!", his students recollect his dry humor and wonderful memories of conversations on all kinds of topics under the sun, ranging from science fiction and human physiology to stand-up comedy and rabbits.

Allen is survived by his wife of forty-six years, Leisa. They were enthusiastic travel companions and loved being together. One of his greatest pleasures was traveling to foreign countries and experiencing their culture. Allen loved reading and was an immensely curious person. He had an extensive book collection on an array of topics that he enjoyed loaning out. Allen was a proud Texan and recounted stories of growing up in Texas loving when asked if he rode a horse. He often told Leisa that "We have had a wonderful life."

Allen is survived by Leisa, sister Donna Kay Emerson, niece Kristen Kirks Davis, her husband Philip Davis, great niece Emerson Lee Davis, great nephew Levi Richard Coleman Davis, and an unborn great niece due in December. Allen considered his caregiver, Linda Leija, "The best person we could have found."

A memorial event will be held at The University of Texas in January with a date yet to be announced. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Settlement Home for Children are appreciated.