What is Internet2 Anyway, and Why Should I Care?: Stephen Wolff, Interim VP and CTO of Internet2

Abstract: Internet2 is a nationwide network built by and for the US higher education community to support its roles of research, education, and public service. With 88 wavelengths on 11,000 miles of owned fiber, and with the collaboration of regional and state research and education (R&E) networks, Internet2 interconnects every major US research university as well as many smaller institutions. Through R&E exchange points on the east and west coasts and in Chicago, Internet2 connects to its peer national R&E networks worldwide and enables international scientific and engineering collaborations including for example the data analysis for the Large Hadron Collider which resulted in the announced discovery of the Higgs boson. In this talk I will describe some of the technical features of the Internet2 network and the services offered to the R&E community - including its availability as a testbed for research in networking and converged computing. I will conclude by describing a few of the more interesting applications that have recently shown up on the network. Biography: Stephen Wolff brings over forty years of leadership in the development, management, and operations of network technologies and is regarded as one of the original visionaries and architects behind the Internet of today, including leading the development of NSFNET, a key precursor to the commodity Internet. Wolff's experience includes teaching and research in communication theory and networking, and development of ARPANET technology including the transition to TCP/IP. His NSF responsibilities included support of basic research in networking and communications, the development of national, regional, and campus R&E network infrastructures for NSFNET, and coordination of R&E networking with other US Government agencies as well as with emerging NRENs in other countries. While at Cisco, he was responsible for grant and contract support of academic research worldwide, and for developing non-sales relationships with NRENs in the U.S. and abroad. At Internet2, he is overseeing the development of a new comprehensive Research Support program, and an architecture and long-range strategy for Internet2 technology and services. Wolff received a B.Sc. with highest honors in Electrical Engineering from Swarthmore College, an M.A. from Princeton University, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering also from Princeton University; he held an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Foundations of Communications at Imperial College (London). Wolff is a life member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), and of the Internet Society (ISOC) from whom he received the Postel Award in 2002.