Don Towsley

Don Towsley is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, within the College of Information and Computer Sciences. He has held visiting positions at AT&T Labs, IBM Research, INRIA, Microsoft Research Cambridge, and the University of Paris 6.

He earned a B.A. in Physics and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Texas.

Prof. Towsley's research spans network science, measurement, modeling, and analysis, with recent emphasis on quantum networking and wireless security. His work addresses foundational challenges in network tomography, entanglement distribution, and quantum communication protocols, contributing to efficient and secure next-generation networks.

Analysis of his 2022-2025 publications reveals a dominant focus on quantum networking—including quantum internet architecture, entanglement distribution, and tomography—alongside continued contributions in classical networking areas such as DDoS detection and edge computing.

His exceptional contributions have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards:

• 2007 IEEE Koji Kobayashi Computer and Communications Award
• 2007 ACM SIGMETRICS Achievement Award
• 2008 ACM SIGCOMM Award
• 2011 INFOCOM Achievement Award
• 1999 IEEE Communications Society William Bennett Award
• 2008 ACM SIGCOMM Test of Time Paper Award
• 2012 ACM SIGMETRICS Test of Time Award
• 2018 ACM MOBICOM Test of Time Award
• UMass Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Research and Creative Activity
• University of Massachusetts Chancellor's Medal
• UMass Amherst Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award
• Outstanding Research Award from the College of Natural Science and Mathematics
• IBM Faculty Fellowship Award (twice)
• Fellow of the IEEE
• Fellow of the ACM
• Corresponding member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences

Prof. Towsley has mentored numerous graduate students, as evidenced by his Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award, and his research has been funded by significant grants including an NSF NeTS grant for quantum network design. He leads the Gaia research group at UMass Amherst, which has evolved from traditional networking research to pioneering quantum networking initiatives.