Datacenter Management Professors and Supervisors

Malte SchwarzkopfView profile

Associate Professor

Brown UniversityUnited States

Malte Schwarzkopf is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Brown University. He was previously a postdoc at MIT CSAIL (2016-2019) and earned his PhD at the University of Cambridge (2016). His research spans distributed systems, operating systems, and privacy-preserving systems, focusing on building high-performance, user-friendly systems through novel abstractions. Education: PhD, University of Cambridge, 2016 MA, University of Cambridge, 2013 BA, University of Cambridge, 2009 His work addresses critical challenges in datacenter scheduling, privacy compliance in web applications, and secure multi-party computation. Recent projects include Quicksand for resource allocation and Sesame for GDPR compliance by design. Scientific awards include the Google ML and Systems Junior Faculty Award (2025), NSF CAREER Award (2021), Amazon Research Award (2024), and multiple best paper/test-of-time awards at NSDI (2015), EuroSys (2013, 2023), and VLDB (2025). He has advised numerous students, including Justus Adam, Lillian Tsai, and Jon Gjengset, who are now at institutions like MIT, Google, and Stanford. His research is supported by NSF, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and VMware.

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Samy El-TawabView profile

Professor

James Madison UniversityUnited States

Samy El-Tawab is a Professor and the Information Technology Program Director at James Madison University (JMU) within the College of Integrated Science and Engineering 's Department of Computer Science . He has been at JMU since 2012, progressing from Assistant to Associate to Full Professor in 2024. Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science (2012), Old Dominion University M.Sc. in Computer Science (2006), Alexandria University B.Sc. in Computer Science (2002), Alexandria University Research Interests span Intelligent Transportation, Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks (VANET), Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), Network Security, Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud Computing, and Autonomous Vehicles. His work focuses on creating passenger-aware autonomous systems and improving transportation efficiency through low-cost IoT solutions. Selected Projects include: Independent Mobility for the Elderly (2019): $120,000 Jeffress Trust Award 4-VA Transit Bus Optimization (2015): $37,700 Madison Trust Smart Parking (2016): Cloud-based parking app STEM Outreach (2015): Mobile tech integration for K-12 education Scientific Awards : 2020 Madison Scholar 2018 Virginia Governor's Technology Award 2017 Outstanding Junior Faculty 2017 CFI Engaged Teacher Scholar 2014 IEEE MASS Travel Award Teaching includes courses like Autonomous Vehicles, Wireless Networking, Security & Forensics, and TCP/IP Networks. He emphasizes project-based learning, with students working on real-world problems like parking solutions and transit monitoring systems.

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Sonia FahmyView profile

Professor

Purdue UniversityUnited States

Sonia Fahmy is a Professor and Associate Department Head in the Department of Computer Science at Purdue University. She joined Purdue in 1999 and was recently elevated to IEEE Fellow status. Fahmy is a member of CERIAS (Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security) and has made significant contributions to network architectures and protocols research. Research Interests: Design and evaluation of network architectures and protocols Network support for virtual reality applications Network measurement and management Cellular networks optimization and security Network experimentation methodologies Professor Fahmy's research has evolved to address emerging challenges in networking, with recent work focusing on virtual reality networking, 5G security, and quality-of-experience optimization. Her publications reveal a consistent trajectory from fundamental network protocol design toward addressing the specific requirements of modern applications like VR and volumetric video streaming. Scientific Awards: IEEE Fellow National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2003) Professor Fahmy has successfully mentored numerous PhD students who have gone on to careers at leading technology companies and academic institutions. Her research has been supported by substantial funding from the National Science Foundation, Department of Homeland Security, and industry partners including Cisco, Meta, Juniper Networks, and AT&T. She leads several active research projects including network support for virtual reality applications (NSF and Meta projects), network measurement and management (Juniper Networks and GENI Project), cellular networks security (NSF projects), and network experimentation (DHS and NSF projects).

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Justine SherryView profile

Associate Professor

University of Hawaii at ManoaUnited States

Justine Sherry is the A. Nico Habermann Associate Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Her research focuses on networked systems across software and hardware layers, particularly middleboxes, congestion control, FPGA-based acceleration, and Internet fairness. Affiliations: Computer Science Department (CSD) , CyLab , SNAP Lab . Academic Rank: Associate Professor Her recent work explores radical shifts in datacenter architectures via SmartNICs, hardware-software co-design for network functions, and database proxy innovation using eBPF. She leads research on Internet fairness , denial-of-service mitigation , and high-speed intrusion detection through systems like Pigasus. Key scientific contributions span 15 recent publications at venues like SIGCOMM, OSDI, and VLDB, addressing topics such as: Mathematical fairness in congestion control KERNEL bypass strategies in FPGA SmartNICs BBR algorithmic unfairness Wireless latency optimization (Zhuge) Heterogeneous hardware performance analysis Open-source security infrastructure Major awards include: Sloan Research Fellowship VMWare Systems Award NSF grants Intel Outstanding Researcher Award Early Career Diamond from UW Engineering She mentors students in systems research, including Ranysha Ware , Nirav Atre , and Hugo Sadok , while collaborating with institutions like Google, Facebook, and DARPA.

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Dave AndersenView profile

Associate Professor

Carnegie Mellon UniversityQatar

Dave Andersen is an Associate Professor at the School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University , with research focusing on memory and power-efficient computing, robust distributed systems, and networked environments. He also serves as CTO of Enriched Ag . Education: Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science from MIT (2001, 2004), B.S. in Computer Science and Biology from the University of Utah (1995). Research Trends: Explores systems design in the post-Moore's Law era, emphasizing concurrency, low-latency geo-replicated storage, and RDMA in datacenters. Key projects include MemC3, Eiger, Cuckoo Filter, and FAWN. Teaching: Courses in Advanced OS, Distributed Systems, Low-Power Computing, and Network Security. Professional Service: Program committee roles at SOSP, NSDI, SIGCOMM, and DARPA ISAT advisory group. Personal: Active in running, climbing, and outdoor activities with detailed route guides for Pittsburgh and Boston.

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Sang-Hoon KimView profile

Associate Professor

National and Kapodistrian University of AthensGreece

Sang-Hoon Kim is an Associate Professor in the Department of Software and Computer Engineering and Department of Artificial Intelligence at Ajou University, South Korea. He leads the Systems Software Lab (Paldal Hall 1004-2) and maintains active collaborations with Virginia Tech as a Visiting Scholar since August 2024. His academic journey includes a Ph.D. in Computer Science from KAIST (2016) under advisors Seungryoul Maeng and Jin-Soo Kim, and a B.S. in Computer Science from KAIST (2002). His research spans operating systems, memory management, and storage systems with focus on mobile platforms, heterogeneous architectures, and SSD technologies. Key interests include memory fragmentation control , distributed thread execution , key-value storage optimization , and resource disaggregation . His work bridges theoretical innovation with practical system implementations, particularly for mobile and datacenter environments. Kim's publication portfolio shows consistent output in top-tier venues including USENIX FAST, VLDB, ICDCS, and ASPLOS. His research demonstrates evolution from mobile memory management (2015-2017) toward distributed systems and hardware-aware software (2019-present), with recent emphasis on resource-disaggregated environments and heterogeneous-ISA computing. The 2024 Best Paper Award at USENIX FAST highlights his impact in storage systems research. Best Paper Award at USENIX FAST'24 Multiple patents including US-9588912B2 for memory control He directs significant research projects funded by ETRI, NRF, and US ONR, including current work on memory-centric computing systems (2020-2023) and disaggregated non-volatile memory systems using RDMA (2018-2020). His Systems Software Lab maintains strong industry partnerships with Samsung Electronics and NHN, with prior projects improving Android memory management and developing SSD-based storage systems for large-scale internet services.

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Rodrigo FonsecaView profile

Associate Professor

Brown UniversityUnited States

Rodrigo Fonseca is an Associate Professor with Tenure in the Computer Science Department at Brown University's School of Engineering. He received his PhD from UC Berkeley in 2008 under Ion Stoica, focusing on execution tracing for distributed systems. His educational background includes a PhD in Computer Science from UC Berkeley (2008). Fonseca's research focuses on distributed systems, networking, and operating systems, with particular interest in understanding complex system behavior. His work spans distributed tracing and debugging (X-Trace, Pivot Tracing), network management in datacenters (2DFQ, Planck), power management in mobile systems (Quanto, Application Modes), and software-defined networking (Participatory Networking, Simon). His research integrates theoretical insights with practical implementations that have influenced both academic and industrial systems. His publication record shows a strong focus on distributed system instrumentation, with recurring themes of causal tracing, resource management, and network monitoring. The most recent publications demonstrate continued innovation in data-aware indexing structures, in-network packet analysis, and context propagation techniques for distributed systems. Fonseca has received significant recognition including an NSDI Test of Time Award for X-Trace, an NSF CAREER Award, and a Best Paper Award at SOSP for Pivot Tracing. His work has been consistently published in top-tier venues including SIGCOMM, NSDI, SOSP, and OSDI. He has mentored numerous graduate students, with five PhD graduates as of 2019 who have gone on to positions at Google, Microsoft, Apple, and MPI-SWS. His research has been supported by funding from the National Science Foundation, Google, Intel, and Microsoft Research, where he also spent visiting periods. He is actively involved in the research community, having served on program committees for major conferences and co-organizing workshops including HotCloud and the New England Networking and Systems Day. In 2019-2020, he served as PC co-chair for HotNets and General Chair for SoCC'2020.

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Cristinel AbabeiView profile

Associate Professor

Marquette UniversityUnited States

Cristinel Ababei serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Marquette University's Opus College of Engineering. He directs the Marquette Embedded Systems (MESS) Laboratory and holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Minnesota (2004), with prior degrees from Technical University of Iasi in Romania. Ph.D., 2004, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota M.S., 1998, Signal Processing, Technical University of Iasi B.S., 1996, Microelectronics, Technical University of Iasi Dr. Ababei's research spans network-on-chip architectures, embedded systems design, FPGA implementations, and energy optimization systems. His work particularly focuses on uncertainty modeling in embedded systems, multicore processor optimization, and applications in underwater drones, LiDAR systems, and battery management. The MESS Lab under his direction conducts research in embedded systems (including tinyML and IoT applications), FPGAs as accelerators for computer vision, and network-on-chip architectures with emphasis on carbon emissions and uncertainty modeling. His recent publications demonstrate a clear trajectory toward integrating machine learning techniques with traditional hardware design, particularly in energy management systems, battery optimization, and environmental monitoring applications. This includes work on HVAC optimization using reinforcement learning, carbon-aware datacenter scheduling, and TinyML applications for battery health monitoring. William and Nancy Stemper Award for underwater drone prototype IEEE Senior Member (2015) Multiple NSF research grants as PI and Co-PI Teaching innovation grants for entrepreneurship-focused courses Dr. Ababei actively mentors students through the NSF REU Site program 'Hardware, Embedded Software, and Analytics for Environment Quality Monitoring' and has graduated multiple Ph.D. and M.S. students. He has secured significant research funding including NSF grants for uncertainty modeling in heterogeneous embedded systems, cross-layer optimization of energy and cost in multiple buildings, and REU site funding for environmental monitoring. He also founded the 'Men as Advocates and Allies Group' at Marquette as part of the Advance Program. His laboratory work includes the development of underwater drones for water quality monitoring, SmartBuilds energy simulation framework, and various embedded systems for environmental sensing applications. He has been instrumental in organizing WE-GIRLS Summer Camps to encourage girls in engineering from grades 6-8.

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Panagiotis PapadimitriouView profile

Associate Professor

University of MacedoniaGreece

Panagiotis Papadimitriou serves as an Associate Professor at the Department of Applied Informatics, University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki, where he leads the NetCloud research group. Previously, he held positions as Assistant Professor at Leibniz University Hanover's Institute of Communications Technology and as a Post-Doctoral Researcher at Lancaster University (UK) and Telecom SudParis (France), with additional research experience at the University of Cambridge. His research spans Internet architectures and technologies with emphasis on Network Function Virtualization (NFV), Software-Defined Networking (SDN), Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), Internet-of-Things (IoT), and Edge Computing. His work includes ML-assisted NFV orchestration (SFC-graph embedding, transformation, and multi-domain partitioning), network slicing orchestration, programmable dataplanes with P4, deterministic networks, datacenter network fabrics, and edge computing. Notable research outcomes include distributed network processing architectures (MIDAS, DistNSE), multi-provider service mapping mechanisms (Nestor), open-source NFV orchestration platforms (TeNOR), and orchestration platforms for cross-slice communication (MESON). His recent publications show a strong focus on In-Band Network Telemetry, Service Function Chain optimization, Time-Sensitive Networking implementations, and cross-slice communication systems, demonstrating his leadership in network virtualization and edge computing research areas. His work consistently addresses practical implementation challenges while advancing theoretical foundations in network management. Scientific Recognition: Senior Member of IEEE Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Network and Service Management Counselor of the IEEE Student Branch at University of Macedonia As Principal Investigator of the Horizon Europe NEPHELE project and previous EU-funded projects (NECOS, T-NOVA, CONFINE), he has secured over 1M euro in research funding. He actively contributes to the academic community through conference organization roles including IEEE ICC NGNI 2025, IEEE ICIN 2024, and IFIP/IEEE CNSM 2022 as General Co-Chair. The NetCloud research group he leads maintains a dedicated edge computing facility used for both research and teaching, and is known for its commitment to open-source software and community service through academic network resources. His educational background includes a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Democritus University of Thrace (2008), an M.Sc. in Information Technology from University of Nottingham (2001), and a B.Sc. in Computer Science from University of Crete (2000).

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Muhammad Mustafa RafiqueView profile

Associate Professor

Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)United States

Muhammad Mustafa Rafique is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Rochester Institute of Technology's Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences. His research specializes in optimizing large-scale computing systems, with focus areas including: High-performance computing (HPC) resource management Distributed deep learning acceleration Fault-tolerant cloud architectures GPU-accelerated checkpointing systems Serverless computing frameworks Dr. Rafique's work demonstrates consistent innovation in improving computational efficiency for containerized HPC workflows, multi-GPU scheduling, memory optimization, and distributed training pipelines. His publications frequently appear in premier IEEE/ACM conferences, reflecting contributions to systems performance engineering. While no awards or student advisees are mentioned in available materials, his research collaborations include co-authors from institutions worldwide, indicating active engagement in the high-performance computing research community. Current work explores emerging memory technologies like CXL and advanced containerization techniques for next-generation datacenters.

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