Computing Community Consortium (CCC) Executive Council member Jennifer Rexford from Princeton University will present “Hitting the Nail on the Head: Interdisciplinary Research in Computer Networking,” part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE) Distinguished Lecture series on April 4th, from 2:00PM to 3:00PM ET.
Jennifer Rexford is the Gordon Y.S. Wu Professor of Engineering and the Chair of Computer Science at Princeton University. Before joining Princeton in 2005, she worked for eight years at AT&T Labs—Research. Jennifer received her BSE degree in electrical engineering from Princeton University in 1991, and her PhD degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of Michigan in 1996. She is co-author of the book “Web Protocols and Practice” (Addison-Wesley, May 2001). She served as the chair of ACM SIGCOMM from 2003 to 2007. Jennifer received the ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award (2004), the ACM Athena Lecturer Award (2016), and the NCWIT Harrold and Notkin Research and Graduate Mentoring Award (2017). She is an ACM Fellow (2008), an IEEE Fellow (2018), and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2013) and the National Academy of Engineering (2014).
Abstract: This is an exciting time in computer networking. The Internet is one of the most influential inventions of all time–a research experiment that, within our own lifetimes, escaped from the lab to become a global communications infrastructure. We see seemingly non-stop innovation in compelling services delivered over the Internet, end-host devices connected to the Internet, and communication media underlying the Internet, constantly giving our networks new challenges to address. In turn, computer networks arise in increasingly diverse settings, including data-center networks, cellular networks, vehicular networks, ad hoc networks, overlay networks, and more. Designing and operating computer networks that offer good performance, reliability, security, and more lead to a wealth of fascinating and important research problems—“nails” in search of a good hammer. Yet, to *solve* these big, hairy problems we often need to look beyond the field of computer networking to other established disciplines—sources of good “hammers”. In this talk, I share my experiences conducting interdisciplinary research in computer networking, through example collaborative projects with great colleagues and a few hard-won lessons along the way.
To attend in person, NSF visitors must contact Shanelle Cash (scash@nsf.gov), so that a visitor pass can be arranged. To attend virtually, join via WebEx.
