Carl Kesselman |
Scientific users the world over are already using Globus software to allow seamless
sharing of computational resources — machines, data, sensors and more — in scientific
enterprises like NEESGrid, set up to further computationally intensive research
and modeling in earthquake safety.
Climatologists, molecular biologists and high-energy physicists are also confirmed
users of the software, which Kesselman and his colleagues began creating nearly
a decade ago.
Business users have also started using Globus to for advanced applications.
For example, SAP has used Globus to demonstrate dynamic deployment and integration
of new servers into applications. The Globus consortium is expected to accelerate
the adoption of Globus technology in commercial applications.
To further advance the adoption of Globus in commercial applications, the Globus
trio created Univa Corp, a company focused on providing commercial support for the open source toolkit
and business oriented solutions based on the Globus toolkit. Tueke is Univa president/
CEO and and Kesselman is chief scientist
"The problem is that open source Globus software is still largely unpackaged
and unsupported for enterprise use. That's where Univa comes in," says a statement
on the company's web site.
"Grid computing has only begun to realize its potential in business," said Kesselman.
"We think that such applications as on-demand deployment, enterprise based resource
management and custom and general purpose Grid based solutions from independent
software vendors will be in place in he next three to four years."
Kesselman is director of the Center for Grid Technologies at the Viterbi School's
Information Science Institute and an ISI fellow. He also holds an appointment
as research associate professor in the Viterbi School's department of computer
science.
Globus work and the scientists have won numerous honors, both academic and from
IT publications, including 2003 Finalist, World Technology Award for Information
Technology Software; 2003 InfoWorld Top 10 Innovators; 2003 The Federal Laboratory
Consortium (FLC) Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer; 2002 MIT Technology
Review Ten Technologies that will Change the World; the 2002 British Computing
Society Lady Ada Lovelace Medal; 2002 R&D Magazine R&D 100 Award; and
2002 R&D Magazine's Most Promising New Technology Award (best of the R&D
100.)