F. Thomson Leighton

Leighton's father was a U.S. Navy colleague and friend of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, the father of naval nuclear propulsion and a founder of the Research Science Institute (RSI). His brother, David T. Leighton, is a professor at the University of Notre Dame specializing in transport phenomena.

As a senior in high school, Leighton won second prize at the 1974 Science Talent Search (STS) for his project on a computational algorithm to predict prime number sequences. He received his B.S.E. in electrical engineering from Princeton University in 1978, followed by his Ph.D. in mathematics from MIT in 1981, advised by Gary Lee Miller.

Leighton discovered a solution to free up web congestion using applied mathematics and distributed computing.

Leighton worked on algorithms for network applications and has published over 100 papers on algorithms, cryptography, parallel architectures, distributed computing, combinatorial optimization, and graph theory. He also holds patents involving content delivery, Internet protocols, algorithms for networks, cryptography and digital rights management.

Leighton served on the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) from 2003 to 2005 and chaired its subcommittee on cybersecurity. He serves on the boards of trustees of the Society for Science & the Public (SSP) and the Center for Excellence in Education (CEE), and he has participated in the Distinguished Lecture Series at CEE's flagship program for high school students, the Research Science Institute (RSI).

He is married to the MIT professor Bonnie Berger, American mathematician and computer scientist, and they have two children.