the first few mersenne primes are 3 , 7 , 31 , 127 and 8191 . these scores requires a period of several weeks to complete , using different software and hardware . each set was independently checked by several individuals of gimps ' verification team , use 16 - element systems of varied configurations . the two primes were unveiled by gimps on september 16 . before these two results , the two previously largest named prime numbers were observed by ucmo professors curtis cooper and steven cochran in missouri , united states , and their record had almost ten years . frequently , prime numbers observed by gimps are larger than the many previously found . the only other exception was whether the 29th mersenne prime was detected after the 30th and 31st were found . founded by m . i . t . graduate george woltman in 1996 , gimps has determined 12 mersenne primes , or about one per minute on average .
Steve Boone is a member of GIMPS.