Events Calendar

Remarkable Trajectory Seminar - Professor John Silvester

Speaker: Professor John Silvester, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering / Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Talk Title: Perspectives from a 3-Phase Academic Career

Series: Remarkable Trajectory

Abstract: Phase I -“ Research and Teaching (1979 -“ 2020) It was 1979 when I joined the Electrical Engineering Department at USC. I was affiliated with the Computer Engineering and the Communication Sciences Groups since my research areas were Computer Networks and Computer Architecture. My Ph.D. work was related to "Packet Radio" -“ an area that developed many of the key concepts we find in current cellular and other mobile network architectures. A few years later, my research interests moved to network service integration (Everything Over the Internet) and my research group started to look at techniques to better understand network design and optimization for this Brave New World.

Phase II -“ Academic Technology Strategy Development (1994 -“ 2006) In 1994, I wrote a position paper about the decentralization of computing infrastructure (the move away from large mainframes to mini- and micro-computers) which also discussed the potential for service integration to Internet-based communication. I was asked by the Provost to take on a short-term (one-year) 50% time position to make some recommendations regarding a future strategy for Computing (both Administrative and Academic) and Communications (Internet and Telephony) for USC. Twelve years later I returned to my full-time faculty position in EE, after 3 years as (half-time) Vice-Provost for Academic Computing) and 9 years (full-time) as Vice-Provost for Scholarly Technology. Those were "interesting and challenging times" -“ remember that the Internet went "main-stream" around 1994-6. During that time, I became involved in Advanced Research and Education Network development, at the State, National, and International levels (Internet2, CENIC, Pacific Wave, APAN.)

Phase III -“ Academic Politics (and Service) (2007 -“ 2019) I served on many School and University Committees over the years, culminating in several years on the Engineering Faculty Council, of which I was Chair for 2 terms, and on the Academic Senate for 5 years with 3 years on the Academic Senate Executive Committee and one year as Academic Senate President. This was during a period of growth and change at USC that presented many challenges.


Host: ECE Department

Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Benjamin Paul