David P. Anderson
Encyclopedia
David Pope Anderson is a Research Scientist at the Space Sciences Laboratory
, at the University of California, Berkeley
, and an Adjunct Professor of Computer Science at the University of Houston
. Anderson leads the SETI@home
, BOINC, Bossa
and Bolt software projects.
Anderson received a BA in Mathematics from Wesleyan University
, and MS and PhD degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
. From 1985 to 1992 he was an Assistant Professor in the UC Berkeley Computer Science Department, where he received the NSF Presidential Young Investigator
and IBM Faculty Development awards. His research focused on distributed systems for handling digital audio and video in real time. He later worked at Sonic Solutions
, where he developed the first distributed system for digital audio editing, and at Tunes.com, where he developed web-based systems for music discovery based on psychometrics, acoustics, and other models. In 1995 he joined David Gedye and Dan Werthimer
in creating SETI@home
, which he continues to direct. From 2000 to 2002, he served as CTO of United Devices
.
In 2002 he created the BOINC software, which develops an open-source software platform for volunteer computing
. The software is funded by NSF and is based at the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory
. BOINC is used by about 100 projects, including SETI@home
, Einstein@home
, Rosetta@home
, Climateprediction.net
, and the IBM World Community Grid
.
Anderson was involved in Stardust@home
, which used 23,000 volunteers to identify interstellar dust particles via the Web - an approach called distributed thinking
. In 2007 Anderson launched two new software projects: Bossa (middleware for distributed thinking), and Bolt (a framework for web-based training and education in the context of volunteer computing and distributed thinking).
Space Sciences Laboratory
The Space Sciences Laboratory is an Organized Research Unit of the University of California, Berkeley. It is located in the Berkeley Hills above the university campus...
, at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, and an Adjunct Professor of Computer Science at the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
. Anderson leads the SETI@home
SETI@home
SETI@home is an Internet-based public volunteer computing project employing the BOINC software platform, hosted by the Space Sciences Laboratory, at the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States. SETI is an acronym for the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence...
, BOINC, Bossa
Bossa (computing)
The Berkeley Open System for Skill Aggregation is a software framework for distributed thinking - the use of volunteers on the Internet to perform tasks that require human intelligence, knowledge, or cognitive skills.- History :David P...
and Bolt software projects.
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
, and MS and PhD degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. From 1985 to 1992 he was an Assistant Professor in the UC Berkeley Computer Science Department, where he received the NSF Presidential Young Investigator
Presidential Young Investigator Award
The Presidential Young Investigator Award was awarded by the National Science Foundation. The program operated from 1984 to 1991, and was replaced by the NSF Young Investigator Awards and Presidential Faculty Fellows Program...
and IBM Faculty Development awards. His research focused on distributed systems for handling digital audio and video in real time. He later worked at Sonic Solutions
Sonic Solutions
Sonic Solutions, acquired by Rovi Corporation in 2010, was a computer software company headquartered in Novato, California. In addition to having a number of offices in the U.S., the company also maintained offices in Europe and Asia.-History:...
, where he developed the first distributed system for digital audio editing, and at Tunes.com, where he developed web-based systems for music discovery based on psychometrics, acoustics, and other models. In 1995 he joined David Gedye and Dan Werthimer
Dan Werthimer
Dan Werthimer is co-founder and chief scientist of the SETI@home project and directs other UC Berkeley SETI searches at radio, infrared and visible wavelengths, including the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Radio Emissions from Nearby Developed Intelligent Populations...
in creating SETI@home
SETI@home
SETI@home is an Internet-based public volunteer computing project employing the BOINC software platform, hosted by the Space Sciences Laboratory, at the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States. SETI is an acronym for the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence...
, which he continues to direct. From 2000 to 2002, he served as CTO of United Devices
United Devices
United Devices, Inc. was a privately held, commercial distributed computing company that focused on the use of grid computing to manage HPC infrastructures and enterprise cluster management...
.
In 2002 he created the BOINC software, which develops an open-source software platform for volunteer computing
Volunteer computing
Volunteer computing is a type of distributed computing in which computer owners donate their computing resources to one or more "projects".-History:...
. The software is funded by NSF and is based at the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory
Space Sciences Laboratory
The Space Sciences Laboratory is an Organized Research Unit of the University of California, Berkeley. It is located in the Berkeley Hills above the university campus...
. BOINC is used by about 100 projects, including SETI@home
SETI@home
SETI@home is an Internet-based public volunteer computing project employing the BOINC software platform, hosted by the Space Sciences Laboratory, at the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States. SETI is an acronym for the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence...
, Einstein@home
Einstein@Home
Einstein@Home is a volunteer distributed computing project hosted by the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics . The project is directed by Bruce Allen...
, Rosetta@home
Rosetta@home
Rosetta@home is a distributed computing project for protein structure prediction on the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing platform, run by the Baker laboratory at the University of Washington...
, Climateprediction.net
Climateprediction.net
Climateprediction.net, or CPDN, is a distributed computing project to investigate and reduce uncertainties in climate modelling. It aims to do this by running hundreds of thousands of different models using the donated idle time of ordinary personal computers, thereby leading to a better...
, and the IBM World Community Grid
World Community Grid
World Community Grid is an effort to create the world's largest public computing grid to tackle scientific research projects that benefit humanity...
.
Anderson was involved in Stardust@home
Stardust@home
Stardust@home is a citizen science project that encourages volunteers to search images for tiny interstellar dust impacts. The project began providing data for analysis on August 1, 2006....
, which used 23,000 volunteers to identify interstellar dust particles via the Web - an approach called distributed thinking
Distributed thinking
A Distributed thinking project is similar to Distributed computing except that the human computer-user performs the relevant tasks. The tasks usually being unsuitable or extremely difficult for computers but very easy for humans...
. In 2007 Anderson launched two new software projects: Bossa (middleware for distributed thinking), and Bolt (a framework for web-based training and education in the context of volunteer computing and distributed thinking).