Dexter Campbell Kozen (born December 20, 1951) is an American theoretical computer scientist. He is Professor Emeritus and Joseph Newton Pew, Jr. Professor in Engineering at Cornell University.

Career

Kozen received his BA in mathematics from Dartmouth College in 1974 and his PhD in computer science in 1977 from Cornell University, where he was advised by Juris Hartmanis on the thesis, Complexity of Finitely Presented Algebras. He is known for his work at the intersection of logic and complexity. He is one of the fathers of dynamic logic and developed the version of the modal μ-calculus most used today. His work on Kleene algebra with tests was recognized with an Alonzo Church Award in 2022. Moreover, he has written several textbooks on the theory of computation, automata theory, dynamic logic, and algorithms. Kozen was a guitarist, singer, and songwriter in the band "Harmful if Swallowed". He also holds the position of faculty advisor for Cornell's rugby football club.

Awards and honors