معرفی
Dr. Theophilus A. Benson is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, with additional responsibilities at Carnegie Mellon University-Africa. His research group focuses on improving network performance and availability through models, algorithms, and frameworks that manage network state semantics. Key application areas include addressing the digital divide, optimizing microservices/cloud systems, software-defined networks, and CDN designs.
Education:
- Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison (2012)
- M.S., University of Wisconsin, Madison (2008)
- B.S., Tufts University (2004)
Research Focus: Professor Benson's work spans three core domains: Democratizing Web Performance (measurements and optimizations for developing regions), Systems Abstractions for Programmable Infrastructures (eBPF/P4 frameworks), and Self-Managing Networks (ML-driven configurations). His African Internet Observatory initiative analyzes Africa's internet ecosystem to address digital inequity through assessment probes and statistical methods.
Publication Trends: Recent works (2021-2024) demonstrate a strong focus on programmable networks (eBPF/P4 management), web performance in developing regions, and data-driven cloud/CDN optimizations. Earlier foundational work established expertise in SDN fault tolerance, network updates, and video streaming characterization.
Awards & Honors:
- SIGCOMM Test of Time Award
- NSF CAREER Award
- NEC Faculty Award
- Google Faculty Award
- Facebook Faculty Award (2x)
- DARPA ISAT Study Group Member
Grants & Advising: Secured funding from NSF (CAREER, NeTS), Google, Facebook, and Yahoo. Current advisees include 4 PhD/MS students working on programmable networks and web performance. Actively recruiting post-docs and students for African connectivity and eBPF projects.
Leadership: Co-chairs NSDI'25 and ApNet'24 conferences. Leads the NetLab research group developing deployable systems adopted by web-scale companies and open-source communities.
