Vern Paxson, Director of Networking and Security, Wins IEEE Internet Award

Professor Vern PaxsonJuly 2, 2014
Professor Vern Paxson, who directs Networking and Security research, has been named a recipient of the 2015 IEEE Internet Award, given annually to recognize exceptional contributions to the advancement of Internet technology for network architecture, mobility, or end-use applications. Paxson and KC Claffy of the Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis in San Diego, California, were recognized for their contributions to the field of Internet measurement, including security and network data analysis, and for distinguished leadership in and service to the Internet community by providing open-access data and tools. The Internet Award is sponsored by Nokia.

Paxson is a professor in UC Berkeley's Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department and a staff scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He has served as an area director of the Internet Engineering Task Force, the chair of the Internet Research Task Force, and the vice chair of ACM SIGCOMM.  He co-founded the Internet Measurement Workshop (now Conference), the Workshop on Rapid Malcode, and the Workshop on Large-Scale Exploits and Emergent Threats. Among other accomplishments, he developed the open-source Bro network security monitor, won the 2006 SIGCOMM Test of Time Award for his 1996 paper on Internet routing behavior, and is a principal investigator at the Center for Evidence-Based Security Research, which focuses on the economic and social aspects of network security.

Since the Internet Award was first given in 2000, three ICSI networking researchers in addition to Paxson have received it: Scott Shenker, now the director of Research Initiatives and ICSI's chief scientist; Sally Floyd, now retired; and Mark Handley, now a professor at the University of Cambridge. All four were founding members of the AT&T Center for Internet Research at ICSI, the predecessor of the Networking and Security Group in its current incarnation.