Keith Marzullo

Division Director, National Science Foundation
Professor, University of California San Diego

February 28th, 2014, 11am-12pm, DBH 6011

Title:

Innovating for Society: Realizing the Transformative Impact of Computing and Computation

Abstract:

Advances in computer and information science and engineering (CISE) are catalyzing a societal transformation. We are witnessing unprecedented growth of scientific and social data, deep integration of the cyber and physical worlds, wireless connectivity at broadband speeds, and seamless access to resources in the cloud. These advances are transforming the way we work, play, communicate, learn, and discover. Foundational research is an integral part of a comprehensive innovation ecosystem with the capacity to yield new benefits for society. Investments in ambitious, long-term research and infrastructure, as well as in the development of a computing and information technology workforce, enable these advances and are a national imperative. This talk will discuss technological advances and emerging trends that are shaping our future and accelerating the pace of discovery and innovation across all science and engineering disciplines. It will also describe how these trends inform priorities and programs at National Science Foundation. CISE research provides a foundation for economic competitiveness and is critical to advancing our national priorities, such as sustainability, smart transportation, disaster resilience, education and life-long learning, public safety, and national security.

Speaker Bio:

Keith Marzullo is currently the Division Director for the Computer and Network Systems (CNS) Division in the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Directorate at the National Science Foundation. He is at NSF on leave from the Computer Science and Engineering Department at the University of California, San Diego. He has been on the UCSD faculty since 1993. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1984; for his Ph.D. he developed the Xerox Research Internet Clock Synchronization protocol, which was one of the first practical fault-tolerant protocols that addressed this issue. In 1986, he left Xerox and joined the CS Department at Cornell University where with colleagues Ken Birman and Robert Cooper, he started the company ISIS Distributed Systems, which provided middleware for fault tolerant distributed applications; this software was used by financial and investment institutions. He served as a Professor at Large in the Computer Science Department at the University of Tromso from 1999-2003, was Chair of ACM SIGOPS from 2003-2007, and Chair of the CSE Department from 2006-2010. His current research focuses on issues in distributed systems and security. He is a Fellow of the ACM.