{{short description|British computer scientist}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}} {{Use British English|date=April 2018}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Jean Bacon | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1942}} | birth_place = Sheffield, England | fields = Distributed systems | workplaces = University of Cambridge | awards = IEEE Fellow <br> BCS Fellow | website = {{url|http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~jmb25/}} }}
'''Jean Bacon''' (born 1942) is a British emeritus professor of distributed systems at the Computer Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, where she co-headed the Opera Research Group from its founding in the 1990s.<ref name=opera>{{cite web|title=Opera Group > People|url=https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/research/srg/opera/people/|website=University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory|accessdate=18 August 2015}}</ref><ref name=bacon>{{cite web|title=Jean Bacon (personal web page)|url=http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~jmb25/|accessdate=18 August 2015}}</ref> Previously, she taught at Hatfield Technical College where, in the 1970s, she was involved in the design of one of the earliest computer science degree programs offered in the United Kingdom.<ref name="bacon_abbate">{{cite interview |last=Bacon |first=Jean |interviewer=Janet Abbate |title=Oral History: Jean Bacon |work=IEEE History Center Oral History Program |url=http://ethw.org/Oral-History:Jean_Bacon |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |date=10 April 2001}}</ref> Bacon retired from her faculty position at Cambridge in 2010 but has continued to work on Opera projects related to distributed systems and security in cloud computing.<ref name=opera />
==Early life and career== Bacon was born in Sheffield in 1942 in a working-class family. She attended Penistone Grammar School and went on to receive her B.S. in mathematics from the University of London. Her first introduction to computing came from a summer job in the early 1960s, after which she worked in computer-related jobs at the National Physical Laboratory and the GEC Hirst Research Centre. In 1968 she transitioned to teaching in Higher National Certificate and Higher National Diploma programs while working on her M.Sc. on a part-time basis. She moved in 1973 to Hatfield – now the University of Hertfordshire – where she was involved in designing an early example of a degree program in computer science. After the birth of her son in 1976, Bacon continued to teach while working on her Ph.D. at Hatfield part-time, studying kernel design and distributed systems.<ref name=bacon_abbate />
==Research career== In 1985 Bacon moved to a faculty position in the Computer Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, where her work focused on the design of distributed systems and middleware.<ref name=bacon_abbate /> She was the first woman to join the Computer Laboratory.<ref name=open>{{cite web|title=Professor Jean Bacon awarded Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University|url=http://crc.open.ac.uk/8025711B0044B697/httpNews?ReadForm&unid=8EFE5BCA5683CE6980257B81006E927B|website=The Open University Centre for Research in Computing|accessdate=20 August 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304120719/http://crc.open.ac.uk/8025711B0044B697/httpNews?ReadForm&unid=8EFE5BCA5683CE6980257B81006E927B|url-status=dead}}</ref> There she was a co-leader of the Opera Research Group since its founding in the 1990s.<ref name=opera /> She has also published several textbooks on concurrent and distributed systems.<ref name=bacon />
Bacon is a Fellow of the IEEE and of the British Computer Society. She was the founding editor in chief of the IEEE publication now known as ''IEEE Distributed Systems Online''<ref>{{cite web|title=Distributed Systems Online, IEEE|url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/aboutJournal.jsp?punumber=8968|website=IEEE Xplore|access-date=20 August 2015}}</ref> and served two terms on the IEEE Board of Governors from 2002–04 and 2005–07.<ref name=bacon /> In 2013, she was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of the University by Open University.<ref name=open />
== Education == Bacon has earned 4 degrees, 3 the conventional way and 1 honorary degree. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Jean Bacon {{!}} Jesus College in the University of Cambridge |url=https://www.jesus.cam.ac.uk/people/jean-bacon-hon-duniv |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=www.jesus.cam.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |+ !Type !Discipline !School !Year |- |BSc |Mathematics |University of London |1963 |- |MSc |Computer Science |Council for National Academic Awards |1967 |- |PhD |Computer Science |Council for National Academic Awards |1982 |- |Honorary Doctorate | |Open University |2014 |}
==Personal life== Bacon has one son, born in 1976.<ref name=bacon_abbate /> She is also an artist and has exhibited paintings.<ref name=bacon />
==External links== * [https://www.sms.cam.ac.uk/media/1109583 Interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 16 September 2008 (video)]
==References== {{reflist}}
{{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Bacon, Jean}} Category:British women computer scientists Category:British computer scientists Category:Fellows of the IEEE Category:Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge Category:Fellows of the British Computer Society Category:Living people Category:1942 births Category:People educated at Penistone Grammar School