James Lee Massey (February 11, 1934 – June 16, 2013)[1] was an Americaninformation theorist andcryptographer, ProfessorEmeritus of Digital Technology atETH Zurich. His notable work includes the application of theBerlekamp–Massey algorithm tolinear codes, the design of theblock ciphersIDEA (withXuejia Lai, based on theLai-Massey scheme) andSAFER, and theMassey-Omura cryptosystem (withJim K. Omura).
Massey was born inWauseon, Ohio. As a child, after the death of his father inOhio, he moved with his mother and brother toMendota, Illinois. At age 14, his family moved toOttawa, Illinois. After graduating from St. Bede Academy, he entered theUniversity of Notre Dame. He received aB.S. inelectrical engineering from Notre Dame in 1956 and was granted anNSF Fellowship. After three years of military service, he began graduate studies in 1959 atMIT, where he concentrated oncoding theory and was awarded aPh.D. in 1962, withJohn Wozencraft as his advisor. He returned to Notre Dame, where he taught electrical engineering until 1977, publishing significant research inconvolutional codes,frame synchronization techniques and feedback-assisted communication. After a brief period atUCLA, Massey accepted a position at ETH Zurich in 1980. He remained there until his retirement in 1998.
Massey died ofcolon cancer on June 16, 2013 inCopenhagen,Denmark.[1]
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| Preceded by | IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal 1992 | Succeeded by |
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