Massivizing Computer Systems: The Science of Distributed Ecosystems

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

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Abstract

Inaugural Lecture as Full Tenured Professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands, June 12, 2018
ABSTRACT:
Our society is digital: industry, science, governance, and individuals depend, often transparently, on the interoperation of large numbers of distributed computer systems. Although the society takes them almost for granted, these computer eco-systems are not available for all, may not be affordable for long, and raise numerous other research challenges. Inspired by these challenges and by our experience with distributed computer systems, we envision Massivizing Computer Systems, a domain of computer science focusing on understanding, controlling, and evolving successfully such ecosystems. Beyond establishing and growing a body of knowledge about computer ecosystems and their constituent systems, the community in this domain should also aim to educate many about design and engineering for this domain, and all people about its principles. This is a call to the entire community: there is much to discover and achieve.

SHORT BIO (250 words):
Alexandru Iosup is a computer scientist and professor. He is currently Tenured Full Professor and University Research Chair at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where he leads the Massivizing Computer Systems group. He is also Associate Professor with the Distributed Systems group at TU Delft, the Netherlands, where he received his Ph.D. in 2009. His work has received numerous awards, including the Netherlands ICT-Researcher of the Year (2016), Netherlands Teacher of the Year (2015), and several SPEC SPECtacular community-awards (last in 2017). He is a member of the Young Academy of the Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences of the Netherlands. He is elected Chair of the SPEC Research Cloud Group. In his spare time, he contributes to training legal refugees in the Netherlands. His work is funded by a combination of personal grants (mid-career Vidi 2016 and early career Veni 2011), industry gifts and collaborations (e.g., Solvinity, Oracle, Intel), and EU and national projects. You can contact Alexandru by email [ A.Iosup@vu.nl ], visiting (check http://atlarge.science ), or via Twitter [ @AIosup ].