December 07, 2004

UC San Diego Computer Scientist Andrew Chien Elected ACM Fellow

By Doug Ramsey

Professor Andrew Chien of the University of California, San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering is one of only 20 computer scientists elected Fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the scientific and professional society for computer science and information technology. Chien – who was cited for his “contributions to high-performance computing systems” – is the only academic from a California academic institution among the honorees announced today. “It's wonderful to receive such recognition for my research contributions from my peers,” said Chien. “I'm delighted to join such a distinguished group of computer scientists.”

Chien holds the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) Chair in the Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) department and also serves as the director of the Center for Networked Systems (CNS); all at UCSD. He received his Ph.D. in 1990 from MIT, and joined the UCSD faculty in 1998 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Chien is also affiliated with the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology [Cal-(IT)²].

Chien's election reflects his outstanding record in research, community service, and education. He has made fundamental research contributions in a wide range of technical areas, including interconnection networks, high-performance computing software, object languages and systems, and most recently computational grids. The breadth and diversity of his impact is a rarity in this day of increased specialization. Chien has made major research contributions to the:

• design and analysis of high-speed parallel computer interconnects which exploit adaptive routing;
• design, analysis, and optimization of concurrent object languages and systems;
• design of low-overhead communication mechanisms for high-performance clusters and techniques for delivering that performance at the application-level; and
• development of modeling tools and technologies for computational grids..

“Andrew Chien's remarkable track record in high-performance systems spans compilers, parallel architecture, networking, and grids. His recent work puts substance and depth into Grid computing, thru his MicroGrid system for modeling grids and innovations in networking and resource abstractions in the OptIPuter and Virtual Grid projects. ,” said Jacobs School associate dean Jeanne Ferrante. “He is an innovative leader as director of CNS and is a truly outstanding researcher and leader fully deserving of the high honor of ACM Fellow.”

The 40-year-old Chien joins Ferrante and five other Jacobs School faculty members to have been elected Fellows since ACM established the program in 1993. Others honored by ACM include CSE professors Sid Karin, Venkat Rangan, George Varghese, Ronald Graham, and San Diego Supercomputer Center director Francine Berman.

“We are extremely pleased that ACM has recognized Andrew Chien’s long and diverse track record of high-impact contributions which span architecture, compilers, network protocols, and systems in computing,” said CSE chair Mohan Paturi. “He has also proved to be a strong, creative leader within UCSD, successfully building the Center for Networked Systems to nearly $10 million in new funding from industry.”

ACM will formally recognize its 20 new Fellows – eight of whom come from the private-sector – at an annual Awards Banquet in June 2005. “These new members have advanced the computing discipline and underscored its increasingly critical role in our global, communications-rich society," said ACM chief executive officer John White. “Through their outstanding contributions and their exemplary service, these members have provided inspiration, innovation and leadership to the computing and IT community."

Media Contact: Doug Ramsey (858)822-5825