Niklaus Wirth is a Swiss computer scientist known for his contributions to programming languages and software engineering. He is best recognized for developing the programming languages Pascal, Modula-2, and Oberon, which have influenced many modern languages and educational practices in computer science. Wirth's work emphasizes the importance of simplicity and efficiency in programming. He also created the Wirth's Law, which states that software efficiency will improve as hardware becomes faster, highlighting the relationship between hardware and software development. His contributions have had a lasting impact on both academic and practical aspects of computing.