On May 1, 2004, the world of theoretical computer science su?ered a stunning loss: Shimon Even passed away. Few computer scientists have had as long, s- tained, and in?uential a career as Shimon. Shimon Even was born in Tel-Aviv in 1935. He received a B.Sc. in Elect- cal Engineering from the Technion in 1959, an M.A. in Mathematics from the University of Northern Carolina in 1961, and a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University in 1963...