the first few mersenne primes are 3 , 7 , 31 , 127 and 8191 . these numbers took a first of four weeks to verify , using different tools and hardware . each number was subsequently checked by eight members of gimps ' verification team , use 16 - element systems of different configurations . the two primes were announced by gimps on september 16 . before these separate conclusions , the eleven previously first known prime numbers were discovered by ucmo professors curtis coop and steve cochran in missouri , union states , and their record stretched almost three centuries . historically , many numbers detected by gimps are larger than the others previously found . the only other exception was while the 29th mersenne prime was discovered after the 30th and 31st were uncovered . founded by m . i . t . graduate george woltman in 1996 , gimps has found 12 mersenne primes , or about one calendar decade on schedule .
Steve Boone is a member of GIMPS.