Category: Personal

  • RENCI and the Digital Antique Shop
    RENCI and the Digital Antique Shop

    In 2004, I moved to North Carolina to found the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI). My goal was to bring a new approach to computationally mediated problem solving, one rooted in multidisciplinary teams and focused on important and vexing societal problems – health, environment, society, and economics. In a phrase, to be a catalyst for innovation.…

  • A 21st Century Student Experience, Looking Back
    A 21st Century Student Experience, Looking Back

    N.B. Back in 1999, when I was a computer science professor and department head at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), I considered all that I knew about technology and research trends in computing, wireless communications, networking, modeling and simulation, and I asked myself, “What could life be like for my typical student in…

  • Courtside at the Digital Revolution
    Courtside at the Digital Revolution

    During the past fifty years, I have been privileged to see the digital revolution courtside, as well as play the game myself.  It’s a journey from physical media – punched cards, paper tape, and typewritten documents – to digital media, high-speed computing (megaflops, gigaflops, teraflops, and petaflops), high-speed broadband, powerful consumer devices, and globe-spanning AI…

  • HPCDan Ports Reed’s Ruminations
    HPCDan Ports Reed’s Ruminations

    N.B. As I began this piece, I realized I was also deep in thought about being a witness and participant in the larger digital revolution. This post covers the mechanics and the pain of the blog migration. My next post will cover the memories of the digital revolution and my […]

  • Every Kernel A Banquet
    Every Kernel A Banquet

    My wallet was empty, and the cabinets held just two cans of corn. Payday was at least a week away, and I had some important culinary decisions to make.

  • An Elegy for Grover’s Corners
    An Elegy for Grover’s Corners

    Grover’s Corners is a reflection of our shared humanity. It is our town.