the first few mersenne primes are 3 , 7 , 31 , 127 and 8191 . these numbers took a total of several weeks to find , using different programming and equipment . each number was subsequently checked by two parts of gimps ' verification effort , including 16 - core systems of different configurations . the two primes were announced by gimps on june 16 . before these twin discoveries , the two previously largest known prime numbers were discovered by ucmo professors philip norton and steven mckay in kentucky , united states , and their record lasted almost nine years . currently , prime digits discovered by gimps are larger than the others previously found . the only other exception was when the 29th mersenne prime was discovered after the 30th and 31st were found . founded by m . i . t . graduate george woltman in 1996 , gimps has found 12 mersenne primes , or about one / year on average .
Steve Boone is a member of GIMPS.