Faculty

Interdisciplinary research between professor Balaji Prabhakar, his team, and Google has produced a software clock synchronization system that can track time down to 100 billionths of a second.

The paper, presented at NSDI '18, describes a nanosecond-level clock synchronization that can be an enabler of a new spectrum of timing- and delay-critical applications in data centers.

The current, popular clock synchronization algorithm, NTP, can only achieve millisecond-level accuracy. Current solutions for achieving a synchronization accuracy of 10s-100s of nanoseconds require specially designed hardware throughout the network for combatting random network delays and component noise or to exploit clock synchronization inherent in Ethernet standards for the PHY.

The research team presents HUYGENS, named for the Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens, who invented the pendulum clock in 1656. HUYGENS is a software clock synchronization system that uses a synchronization network and leverages three key ideas. First, coded probes identify and reject impure probe data—data captured by probes which suffer queuing delays, random jitter, and NIC timestamp noise. HUYGENS then processes the purified data with Support Vector Machines, a widely-used and powerful classifier, to accurately estimate one-way propagation times and achieve clock synchronization to within 100 nanoseconds. Finally, HUYGENS exploits a natural network effect—the idea that a group of pair-wise synchronized clocks must be transitively synchronized— to detect and correct synchronization errors even further.

The importance of technical advances in measuring time was underscored by European regulations that went into effect in January and that require financial institutions to synchronize time-stamped trades with microsecond accuracy.

Being able to trade at the nanosecond level is vital to Nasdaq. Two years ago, it debuted the Nasdaq Financial Framework, a software system that it has envisioned eventually trading everything from stocks and bonds to fish and car-sharing rides.

The new synchronization system will make it possible for Nasdaq to offer "pop-up" electronic markets on short notice anywhere in the world, Mr. Prabhakar said. He cited the World Cup as a hypothetical example of a short-term electronic marketplace.

"There are tickets needed, housing, people will need transportation," he said. "Think of an electronic market almost like a massive flea market hosted by Nasdaq software."

The HUYGENS team is Yilong Geng (EE PhD candidate), Shiyu Liu (EE PhD candidate), and Zi Yin (EE PhD candidate), Ashish Naik (Google Inc.) EE professors Balaji Prabhakar and Mendel Rosenblum, and Amin Vahdat (Google Inc.)

Related Links (excerpted from)

• The New York Times', "Time Split to the Nanosecond Is Precisely What Wall Street Wants," June 29, 2018.
• Paper presented at NSDI '18, "Exploiting a Natural Network Effect for Scalable, Fine-grained Clock Synchronization".

Congratulations to professors Jon Fan and Juan Rivas-Davila! Two of their researchers won the 2018 NASA iTech Forum. The event is a collaborative effort between NASA and the U.S. Department (DOE) of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to find and foster innovative solutions for critical energy challenges on Earth and in space.

The winning project was presented by Grayson Zulauf and Thaibao (Peter) Phan. Both are PhD candidates. Their collaborative project is developing technology for wireless charging of electric vehicles on Earth, and eventually, Mars. The researchers received invaluable feedback from NASA and DOE's ARPA-E leaders, as well as experts in the field of advanced energy technology.

"NASA is proud to provide a platform for innovators that exposes them to a cadre of industry experts who will be instrumental in the development of their technologies," said Kira Blackwell, NASA iTech program executive for STMD. "NASA's chief technologists and the U.S. Department of Energy's leading subject matter experts provided the teams with a better understanding of requirements for potential infusion of their technologies within a space environment."

Judges selected the top three innovations based on criteria including technical viability, the likely impact on future space exploration, benefits to humanity and commercialization potential. The teams representing the top three entries selected at the end of the forum received a trophy during the recognition ceremony on June 14.

"Our mission at ARPA-E is to change what's possible. We've been delighted to collaborate with NASA for the iTech challenge, to highlight and empower the people driving energy innovation across our country," said Conner Prochaska, senior advisor and chief of staff for ARPA-E. "We look forward to future collaborative opportunities with NASA so, together, we can continue to cultivate the next generation of energy technologies for Americans on the ground and in space."

"It was an honor for Citi to host 'Energy-Tech' thought leaders -- policy makers, academics, scientists, investors and innovators -- for NASA iTech challenge," said Jay Collins, vice chairman of Corporate and Investment Banking at Citi. "We were proud to work with NASA on such an important effort to move energy technology out of the lab and into scalnble solutions for the Moon, Mars and the planet Earth. Congratulations to the winners, whose technological leadership and entrepreneurialism made us all proud."

The top three winners of NASA iTech's 2018 Energy Cycle are listed in alphabetical order:

• iFeather, Boulder, Colorado. In-situ Fabrication of Extraterrestrial Aerogels for Transparency, Heat, and Energy Regulation (iFEATHER) for Habitat, Aeronautic and Space Vessel, and Space Suit Applications. Focus area: Innovative Power Management and Distribution
• Stanford University - Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford, California. Two C: Transportation Electrification through Ubiquitous Wireless Charging. Focus area: Innovative Power Management and Distribution
• WBGlobalSemi, Inc., Lakewood Ranch, Florida. Commercializing High Power Silicon Carbide (SiC) Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs) and Power Modules for Power Management and Distributed Power Applications. Focus area: Innovative Power Management and Distribution

Grayson Zulauf (third from left) is an EE PhD candidate. He is a researcher in the SUPERLab, directed by Professor Juan Rivas-Davila. the Fan Lab is directed by professor Jonathan Fan.

• Watch 2018 NASA iTech Cycle II Energy Forum Winners video.
• Excerpted from "NASA iTech Forum Showcases Innovators' Top Energy Solutions," June 18, 2018.

Congratulations Jon, Juan, Grayson and Peter!

Professor Dwight G. Nishimura has received the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) Gold Medal. This is the highest award of the ISMRM society.

His citation reads, "For pioneering innovations in angiography, fast imaging pulse sequences, image reconstruction, and MR education.

Dwight was honored at an award ceremony during the Joint Annual Meeting ISMRM–ESMRMB held in Paris, France in June. The award presentation listed highlighted his contributions, including

• Theme of coronary MR angiography
• Spiral imaging
• Tagging sequences
• Spectral-spatial excitations
• Non-contrast MRA

A professor of Electrical Engineering, Dwight is the Addie and Al Macovski Professor in the School of Engineering.

Please join us in congratulating Dwight for this well-deserved award!

Professor Andrea Goldsmith has been awarded the 2019 Eric E. Sumner Award. Andrea is the Stephen Harris professor in the School of Engineering.

Professor Goldsmith's research is focused on the design, analysis, and fundamental performance limits of wireless systems and networks, as well as the application of communications and signal processing to biology and neuroscience.

Her IEEE citation reads "For contributions to the fundamental understanding and innovation in adaptive and multiple antenna techniques for wireless communication networks."

The IEEE Eric E. Sumner Award was established by the IEEE Board of Directors in 1995.

It is named in honor of 1991 IEEE President Eric E. Sumner, who retired as Vice President, Operations Planning, AT&T Bell Laboratories after a long and distinguished career.

Please join us in congratulating Andrea for this well-deserved award!

Related news:

• Andrea Goldsmith receives ACM Athena Lecturer Award​, April 2018
• EE and CS Departments Host the 2017 Rising Stars Workshop, March 2018
• Goldsmith Awarded UC Berkeley Distinguished EECS Alumni Award, February 2018

Professor of Electrical Engineering Ayfer Ozgur has won the 2018 Okawa Foundation Research Grant. The Research Grant Presentation Ceremony will occur in San Francisco in September.

The mission of the Okawa Foundation is promotion and development in the field of Information and Communications Technology through awards and research grants as well as efforts to nurture researchers, engineers, and providers. It also seeks to promote diversity and ubiquitousness of human communication and thereby contribute to the peace and prosperity of humankind.

Please join us in congratulating Ayfer for this well-deserved award!

Read more about the Okawa Foundation: www.okawa-foundation.or.jp/en/outline/index.html

A paper by Emeritus Professor Thomas Kailath and co-authors is included in the top 10 notable papers from the last 50 years of papers published in the journal "Linear Algebra and its Application (LAA)." LAA is published by Elsevier and was the first journal devoted to linear algebra.

Along with Thomas Kailath (Electrical Engineering), three more Stanford faculty have papers included in the notable papers list. Including Richard W. Cottle (Management Science and Engineering), George B. Dantzig (Operations Research and Computer Science), and G.H. Golub (Computer Science).

Please join us in congratulating Thomas Kailath along with all of the authors on their extraordinary contributions!

All of the notable papers are free to access, and are hosted in the Elsevier Mathematics Open Archive. The 10 notable papers are:

Complementary pivot theory of mathematical programming, Volume 1, Issue 1, January 1968, Pages 103-125, Richard W. Cottle, George B. Dantzig

On the Eneström-Kakeya theorem and its sharpness, Volume 28, December 1979, Pages 5-16, N. Anderson, E.B. Saff, R.S. Varga

A new look at the Lanczos algorithm for solving symmetric systems of linear equations, Volume 29, February 1980, Pages 323-346, B.N. Parlett

A generalization of the Eckart-Young-Mirsky matrix approximation theorem, Volumes 88–89, April 1987, Pages 317-327, G.H. Golub, Alan Hoffman, G.W. Stewart

Linear complexity parallel algorithms for linear systems of equations with recursive structure, Volumes 88–89, April 1987, Pages 271-315, I. Gohberg, T. Kailath, I. Koltracht, P. Lancaster

Scalings of matrices which have prespecified row sums and column sums via optimization, Volumes 114–115, March–April 1989, Pages 737-764, Uriel G. Rothblum, Hans Schneider

Pencils of complex and real symmetric and skew matrices, Volume 147, March 1991, Pages 323-371, Robert C. Thompson

Riemannian geometry and matrix geometric means, Volume 413, Issues 2–3, 1 March 2006, Pages 594-618, Rajendra Bhatia, John Holbrook

A constructive version of the Boyle–Handelman theorem on the spectra of nonnegative matrices, Volume 436, Issue 6, 15 March 2012, Pages 1701-1709, Thomas J. Laffey

Perron–Frobenius theorem for nonnegative multilinear forms and extensions, Volume 438, Issue 2, 15 January 2013, Pages 738-749, S. Friedland, S. Gaubert, L. Han

Additional Links:

• Linear Algebra and its Applications Journal
• LAA News, "Celebrating the Golden Anniversary of Linear Algebra and its Applications," 2018.

Congratulations to emeritus professor Jim Gibbons! Recognized by Avenidas for his significant contributions in the social well-being of the community at large.

"[...T]he former Dean of the School of Engineering at Stanford, is known internationally for his important achievements in education and for his development of fabrication technologies that were foundational for the modern semiconductor industries in Silicon Valley and around the world. Less well known is the fact that his work has also contributed significantly to the social well-being of our community at large. Jim also served on no less than 13 boards in the Valley (among them Cisco, Raychem, SRI, Lockheed Martin, PARC, and more). In the educational field, he vastly expanded and improved the Stanford Instructional Television Network, which provided topnotch education via television to thousands of engineers at local companies. Again, this provided a crucial piece of "infrastructure" to the Valley, and was a forerunner of present internet courses.

His engagement with the Santa Clara Juvenile Hall in 1996 led him and his colleagues at SERA Learning to develop a successful program that teaches at-risk youth how to manage their anger and walk away from fights. SERA's "Skills for Managing Anger" course has since be used in 355 schools and juvenile justice applications across the country, including Columbine High School and NYC after 9 /11. It included new student centered teaching methods that Jim had developed for the Stanford Video program. Jim credits his wife Lynn who supported him in all his endeavors. He says: "She encouraged me to do things that would serve the needs of others." Avenidas is thrilled to celebrate Jim's amazing contributions and success."

The 2018 Lifetimes of Achievement honorees include Nancy Mueller, Dick Mansfield, Ellie Mansfield, Kristine Erving, John Erving, Christy Holloway and Jim Gibbons.

Excerpted from the Avenidas press release, "Avenidas Unveils Names of Community Contributors for the 2018 Avenidas Lifetime of Achievement Awards," February 12, 2018.

Congratulations to professor Gordon Wetzstein! He is recognized by the Society for Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T) as Electronic Imaging (EI) Scientist of the Year. His citation reads, "for pioneering contributions to electronic imaging in the areas of computational light field and near-eye display technologies."

The EI Scientist of the Year award is given annually at the EI Symposium to a member of the electronic imaging community who who has demonstrated excellence and commanded the respect of his/her peers by making significant and substantial contributions to the field of electronic imaging via research, publications, or service.

About the IS&T

Founded in 1947, the Society for Imaging Science and Technology (imaging.org) is a professional internationalorganization dedicated to keeping members and others apprised of the latest scientific and technological developments in the field of imaging through conferences, educational programs, publications, and its website.

IS&T encompasses all aspects of imaging science, with particular emphasis on digital printing, electronic imaging, color science, image preservation, photofinishing, pre-press technologies, hybrid imaging systems, and silver halide research.

Related links

• EI Scientist of the Year
• Stanford researchers develop technique to see objects hidden around corners, March 2018.
• Gordon Wetzstein awarded Sloan Research Fellowship, February 2018.

Today the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) named Andrea Goldsmith the 2018-2019 Athena Lecturer for contributions to the theory and practice of adaptive wireless communications, and for the successful transfer of research to commercial technology.

Professor Goldsmith is the Stephen Harris Professor in the School of Engineering. Her research is focused on the design, analysis, and fundamental performance limits of wireless systems and networks, as well as the application of communications and signal processing to biology and neuroscience.

Andrea introduced innovative approaches to the design, analysis and fundamental performance limits of wireless systems and networks. Her efforts helped develop technologies used in long-term evolution (LTE) cellular devices as well as the Wi-Fi standards that are used in wireless local area networks. She participated in the launch of companies to commercialize her work, which has led to the adoption of her ideas throughout the communications industry.

Andrea also serves on Stanford's Budget Group, Academic Council Advisory Board, Faculty Senate, and Faculty Women's Forum Steering Committee. She previously served as Chair of Stanford's Faculty Senate and as a member of its Commissions on Graduate Education and on Undergraduate Education, as well as its Task Force on Women and Leadership.

"The anytime, anywhere computing era in which we now live owes a debt to innovators like Andrea Goldsmith who have helped lay the groundwork for the wireless infrastructure that makes mobile computing possible," said ACM President Vicki L. Hanson. "Her work has improved the transmission, reception and overall quality of wireless communications. Importantly, Goldsmith's career has exemplified the spirit of the ACM Athena Lecturer Award in the numerous ways she has mentored young women throughout her career. She has helped prepare promising young women PhD students and postdocs for faculty positions, and she has worked to develop actionable strategies to improve the climate, recruitment and retention of women in the high tech industry."

Please join us in congratulating Andrea for this well-deserved recognition!

About ACM
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is the world's largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting computing educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field's challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession's collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking. 
Excerpted from The ACM press release.  

Related Links

• Stanford Professor Receives ACM Athena Lecturer Award for Contributions to Wireless Communications, ACM Press Release, April 2018.
• Goldsmith Awarded UC Berkeley Distinguished EECS Alumni Award, February 2018.
• EE and CS Departments Host the 2017 Rising Stars Workshop, March 2018
• Professor Andrea Goldsmith elected to the National Academy of Engineering, February 2017.
• Prof. Goldsmith receives the 2017 IEEE WICE Mentorship Award, October 2017

Professor John L. Hennessy and retired UC Berkeley professor David Patterson have been named recipients of the 2017 ACM A.M. Turing Award for pioneering a systematic, quantitative approach to the design and evaluation of computer architectures with enduring impact on the microprocessor industry. Hennessy and Patterson created a systematic and quantitative approach to designing faster, lower power, and reduced instruction set computer (RISC) microprocessors. Their approach led to lasting and repeatable principles that generations of architects have used for many projects in academia and industry. Today, 99% of the more than 16 billion microprocessors produced annually are RISC processors, and are found in nearly all smartphones, tablets, and the billions of embedded devices that comprise the Internet of Things (IoT).

John is the James F. and Mary Lynn Gibbons Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, and Shriram Family Director, Knight-Hennessy Scholars. He was dean of the School of Engineering (1996-2000), university provost (1999-2000), and Stanford University's 10th president (2006-2016).

The ACM Turing Award, often referred to as the "Nobel Prize of Computing," carries a $1 million prize, with financial support provided by Google, Inc. It is named for Alan M. Turing, the British mathematician who articulated the mathematical foundation and limits of computing. Hennessy and Patterson will formally receive the 2017 ACM A.M. Turing Award at the ACM's annual awards banquet being held this June in San Francisco.

"ACM initiated the Turing Award in 1966 to recognize contributions of lasting and major technical importance to the computing field," said ACM President Vicki L. Hanson. "The work of Hennessy and Patterson certainly exemplifies this standard. Their contributions to energy-efficient RISC-based processors have helped make possible the mobile and IoT revolutions. At the same time, their seminal textbook has advanced the pace of innovation across the industry over the past 25 years by influencing generations of engineers and computer designers."

Attesting to the impact of Hennessy and Patterson's work is the assessment of Bill Gates, principal founder of Microsoft Corporation, that their contributions "have proven to be fundamental to the very foundation upon which an entire industry flourished."

Please join us in congratulating John for this outstanding recognition of quantitative computer architectures and impact on the microprocessor industry.

Related News:

"Marty Hellman receives 2015 ACM A.M. Turing Award," March 2016.

ACM press release, "Pioneers of Modern Computer Architecture Receive ACM A.M. Turing Award," March 21, 2018. 

Stanford News, "Former Stanford President wins Turing Award for contributions to computing," March 22, 2018.