Bruce Jay Nelson
Encyclopedia
Bruce Jay Nelson was an American
computer scientist
best known as the inventor of the remote procedure call
concept for computer network
communications.
Bruce Nelson graduated from Harvey Mudd College
in 1974, and went on to earn a master's in computer science from Stanford University
in 1976, and a Ph.D. in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University
in 1982. While pursuing his Ph.D., he worked at Xerox PARC where he developed the concept of Remote Procedure Call
(RPC).
He and his collaborator Andrew Birrell were awarded the 1994 Association for Computing Machinery
(ACM) Software System Award
for the work on RPC.
In 1996 he joined Cisco Systems
as Chief Science Officer.
He died September 19, 1999 due to complications from an aortic dissection
, while on a business trip to Tel Aviv, Israel.
In 2007 the Birrell and Nelson paper won an operating system hall of fame award from the ACM. Classmates and friends endowed a scholarship in his name at Carnegie Mellon.
Harvey Mudd College also named a speaker series in his honor.
He was an avid photographer, backpacker, free-diver and world traveler.
His outgoing and eccentric personality included a fascination with crow
s, leading a friend to name his company "Caw Networks".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
computer scientist
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
best known as the inventor of the remote procedure call
Remote procedure call
In computer science, a remote procedure call is an inter-process communication that allows a computer program to cause a subroutine or procedure to execute in another address space without the programmer explicitly coding the details for this remote interaction...
concept for computer network
Computer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
communications.
Bruce Nelson graduated from Harvey Mudd College
Harvey Mudd College
Harvey Mudd College is a private residential liberal arts college of science, engineering, and mathematics, located in Claremont, California. It is one of the institutions of the contiguous Claremont Colleges, which share adjoining campus grounds....
in 1974, and went on to earn a master's in computer science from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1976, and a Ph.D. in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
in 1982. While pursuing his Ph.D., he worked at Xerox PARC where he developed the concept of Remote Procedure Call
Remote procedure call
In computer science, a remote procedure call is an inter-process communication that allows a computer program to cause a subroutine or procedure to execute in another address space without the programmer explicitly coding the details for this remote interaction...
(RPC).
He and his collaborator Andrew Birrell were awarded the 1994 Association for Computing Machinery
Association for Computing Machinery
The Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
(ACM) Software System Award
ACM Software System Award
The Software System Award is honoring people or an organization "for developing a software system that has had a lasting influence, reflected in contributions to concepts, in commercial acceptance, or both"...
for the work on RPC.
In 1996 he joined Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...
as Chief Science Officer.
He died September 19, 1999 due to complications from an aortic dissection
Aortic dissection
Aortic dissection occurs when a tear in the inner wall of the aorta causes blood to flow between the layers of the wall of the aorta and force the layers apart. The dissection typically extends anterograde, but can extend retrograde from the site of the intimal tear. Aortic dissection is a medical...
, while on a business trip to Tel Aviv, Israel.
In 2007 the Birrell and Nelson paper won an operating system hall of fame award from the ACM. Classmates and friends endowed a scholarship in his name at Carnegie Mellon.
Harvey Mudd College also named a speaker series in his honor.
He was an avid photographer, backpacker, free-diver and world traveler.
His outgoing and eccentric personality included a fascination with crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
s, leading a friend to name his company "Caw Networks".