Gregory Ralph Crane – Alexander von Humboldt Professorship 2013
Gregory Ralph Crane combines classical philology and computer science in an innovative approach, applying computer science methods to systematise human cultural development. He owes his reputation as a pioneer of digital humanities to his development of the Perseus Digital Library, a comprehensive and freely accessible online library for antique source material. By appointing him to the University of Leipzig, the university aims to expand its Institute of Computer Science into an internationally visible digital humanities centre.
Prof. Dr. Gregory Ralph Crane,
born in 1957, currently holds a chair in the Department of Computer Science at Tufts University, Medford, USA. He completed his doctorate in classical philology at Harvard University in 1985 and subsequently worked there as an assistant professor. From 1985, he was involved in planning the Perseus Project as a co-director; in 1992, he became an assistant professor and later an associate professor at Tufts University where he has held the Winnick Family Chair of Technology and Entrepreneurship since 1998. He has received, among others, the Google Digital Humanities Award 2010 for his work.