Lorenzo Alvisi

Lorenzo Alvisi, Tisch University Professor of Computer Science and Chair of the Department of Computer Science at Cornell University, is a leading figure in dependable distributed computing. His research bridges foundational theories and practical implementations of trustworthy distributed systems, with a focus on Byzantine fault tolerance, consensus protocols, and scalable storage architectures.

• Education: Laurea Summa cum Laude in Physics (University of Bologna, 1987), M.S. (1994) and Ph.D. (1996) in Computer Science (Cornell University)
• Affiliations: Cornell University (Tisch Chair), University of Texas at Austin (formerly), IEEE/ACM Fellow

Research Focus spans dependable distributed computing, Byzantine fault tolerance, and scalable storage systems. His group explores how theoretical insights can shape practical system design, particularly for fault-tolerant services in adversarial environments.

Scientific Contributions include groundbreaking work on Byzantine consensus, message logging, and distributed transactions. Trends in his 15 most recent articles highlight advancements in Seamless BFT, Permissionless Consensus, and Modular Concurrency Control.

• Honors:
  • IEEE Fellow (2016)
  • ACM Fellow (2010)
  • Humboldt Research Award (2012)
  • Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow (2001)
  • NSF CAREER Award (1998)
  • Multiple Best Paper Awards (e.g., SOSP 2007, OSDI 2014, NSDI 2016)

Advising Legacy includes mentoring 20+ Ph.D. students across institutions, while grants like NSF CAREER and industry partnerships (e.g., Microsoft Research) fund his work. His lab develops tools like Paralex for parallel programming and Scalog for scalable logging, ensuring robust, real-world applications of distributed systems theory.