PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Jeffrey Scott Vitter

Also known as Jeff Vitter, Jeffrey S. Vitter

Jeffrey Scott Vitter is a computer scientist and university administrator whose research centers on algorithms for big data. He graduated from Notre Dame, earned a Stanford doctorate under Don Knuth, and taught at Brown until 1992. He chaired Duke's computer science department from 1993 to 2001 and then led Purdue's School of Science as dean. Provost posts at Texas A&M and the University of Kansas followed, and from 2016 to 2019 he was the 17th chancellor of the University of Mississippi. As of October 2026 he is an adjunct professor of computer science at Tulane University.

Now at
University of Mississippi and Tulane University
Works
425
Citations
18,810
h-index
68

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 15 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1977–1992

    Notre Dame, Stanford and Brown

    He graduates in mathematics with highest honors from Notre Dame in 1977 and earns a Stanford computer science doctorate under Don Knuth in 1980. Brown University's computer science department employs him as a faculty member from 1980 to 1992.

  2. 1987

    Dynamic Huffman codes

    He publishes Design and Analysis of Dynamic Huffman Codes in the Journal of the ACM in 1987. Big data and data science form his research area, with a focus on algorithms that process, compress and communicate massive information.

  3. 1993–2001

    Chair of Duke's computer science department

    He becomes chair of Duke's computer science department in 1993 and holds the post until 2001.

  4. 2002–2009

    Purdue dean, then Texas A&M provost

    Purdue's School of Science names him Frederick L. Hovde Dean in 2002, and he holds the post until 2008. At Texas A&M, he serves as provost and executive vice president for academics from 2008 to 2009.

  5. 2009

    A SIGMOD test-of-time award

    SIGMOD gives its 2009 Test of Time Award to a 1999 paper with Min Wang on approximate computation of multidimensional aggregates. In 2009, AAAS elects him a Fellow for his work on efficient algorithms and data structures.

  6. 2010–2015

    Provost at the University of Kansas

    The University of Kansas appoints him provost and executive vice chancellor from 2010 to 2015.

  7. 2016–2019

    Chancellor of the University of Mississippi

    As the 17th chancellor of the University of Mississippi, he serves from 2016 to 2019. The National Academy of Inventors names 148 inventors as 2018 fellows, and he is among them.

  8. As of October 2026

    Adjunct professor at Tulane

    He is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Mississippi and an adjunct professor of computer science at Tulane University.

Sources and credits

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  1. Jeffrey Vitter | Tulane University School of Science and Engineering sse.tulane.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  2. Jeffrey Vitter - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 15 October 2026.
  3. Profile - Dr. Jeffrey S. Vitter csci.cs.olemiss.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  4. Duke computer scientist will head Purdue School of Science purdue.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  5. Computer Scientist to Become KU Provost | Electrical Engineering and Computer Science eecs.ku.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  6. 2009 SIGMOD Test of Time Award – SIGMOD Website sigmod.org. Checked 15 October 2026.
  7. Vitter Elected AAAS Fellow - Department of Computer Science - Purdue University cs.purdue.edu. Checked 15 October 2026.
  8. Vitter inducted into National Academy of Inventors | Education | theadvocate.com theadvocate.com. Checked 15 October 2026.