Faculty

"My main research focus is on very large systems, high-performance computers with many processors. These systems require clever scheduling and processor allocation to achieve their full potential and it's an area where clever ideas can make a huge difference in the performance of very expensive systems. Ideas from these systems are also beginning to trickle down to smaller computers, which are increasingly built around multi-core processors. Thus, an important goal of my teaching is to incorporate ideas of parallelism into my courses."

"There are two main threads in my research and they're quite different. Because I spent nearly 20 years in the computer industry, I'm very interested in software development and in the development process. I'm particularly interested in development with small teams of programmers. I think that most really good software gets written in small teams, so that's where I like to look for improvements. The second thread is cryptology, the study of codes and ciphers. I'm particularly interested in how computers and cryptology came together. Currently I've got two projects going, one examining the relationship between Herbert Yardley and William Friedman, America's two founding fathers of cryptology, and the second taking a closer look at Alan Turing's (the godfather of the modern computer) work for the British cipher bureau during World War II."

"I am interested in collecting and analyzing data to better understand how people build good software, from the process and techniques used to build large systems down to the short but often intense experiences novices have while learning to program."