Richard DeMillo
Encyclopedia
Richard Allan DeMillo is an American computer scientist
, educator and executive. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Computing and Professor of Management at the Georgia Institute of Technology
. In June 2008, he announced his intention to step down as the John P. Imlay Dean
of Computing at Georgia Tech after serving in that role for six years.
He joined Georgia Tech in 2002 from The Hewlett-Packard Company
, where he had served as the company’s first Chief Technology Officer. He also held executive positions with Telcordia Technologies
(formerly known as Bell Communications Research) and the National Science Foundation
. He is a well-known researcher and author of over 100 articles, books and patents in the areas of computer security, software engineering, and mathematics.
native, Richard DeMillo was born and raised in Hibbing, Minnesota and received his Bachelor of Arts
in mathematics from the University of St. Thomas
in St. Paul Minnesota in 1969 and a Ph.D.
in information and computer science
from Georgia Tech in 1972.
to create THEORYNET, an early store-and-forward computer network that was the predecessor of NSFNet, a network that was ultimately absorbed by the Internet
and managed by NSF until 1989.
From 1981 to 1987 DeMillo was the Director of the Software Test and Evaluation Project for the US Department of Defense
(DoD). He is widely credited with developing the DoD’s policy for test and evaluation of software-intensive systems. In 1987, he moved to Purdue University
where he was named Professor of Computer Science and Director of The Software Engineering Research Center. In 1989, he became Director of the National Science Foundation Computer and Computation Research Division and presided over the growth of high performance computing and computational science programs. He also held a visiting professorship at the University of Padua
in Padua, Italy where he led the formation of a successful post-graduate program in software engineering.
In 1995 he became Vice President and General Manager of Information and Computer Science Research at Bellcore (which later became Telcordia Technologies
), leading the invention of new technologies for e-commerce, networking and communications. In 1997, he collaborated with Richard Lipton and Daniel Boneh to create the “Differential Fault Analysis” method of cryptanalysis, leading to a strengthening of existing standards for internet security
.
In 2000, DeMillo joined Hewlett-Packard
(HP) as vice president and Chief Technology Officer
(CTO). While working at HP, he led the company’s introduction of a new processor architecture, a corporate trust and security strategy, and the company’s entry into open source software. He was the public spokesman for HP’s technology and one of the most visible figures in IT. In 2002, RSA Security appointed DeMillo to its Board of Directors, a position he held until 2007 when RSA was acquired by EMC
. He remained at HP through the company’s 2002 merger with Compaq
computer and was named Vice President for Technology Strategy. He returned to Tech that August to serve as the new dean of the College of Computing
.
as Dean of the Georgia Tech College of Computing
and led the college to a period of aggressive growth at a time when Computer Science enrollments were in decline nationally. He led the formation of 3 new schools, 7 new degree programs, 3 international programs, and 2 research centers. Under his tenure the ranking of Georgia Tech's graduate computer science programs rose from 14 to 9. He incorporated a broader focus into the College’s undergraduate programs and launched a new program called "Threads", a student-centered approach to undergraduate education that has influenced computer science programs nationally and internationally.
DeMillo was honored as an ACM
Fellow in 2003 for "contributions to the engineering of reliable and secure software." In 2004, He was also honored as an AAAS Fellow.
In June 2008, shortly after long-time Georgia Tech President Wayne Clough
stepped down to become Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, DeMillo announced his resignation. In a subsequent interview DeMillo cited conflicts with his new academic superior as the reason for his departure.
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
, educator and executive. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Computing and Professor of Management at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
. In June 2008, he announced his intention to step down as the John P. Imlay Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of Computing at Georgia Tech after serving in that role for six years.
He joined Georgia Tech in 2002 from The Hewlett-Packard Company
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
, where he had served as the company’s first Chief Technology Officer. He also held executive positions with Telcordia Technologies
Telcordia Technologies
Telcordia Technologies, formerly Bell Communications Research, Inc. or Bellcore, is a telecommunications research and development company based in the United States created as part of the 1982 Modification of Final Judgment that broke up American Telephone & Telegraph...
(formerly known as Bell Communications Research) and the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
. He is a well-known researcher and author of over 100 articles, books and patents in the areas of computer security, software engineering, and mathematics.
Early life and education
A MinnesotaMinnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
native, Richard DeMillo was born and raised in Hibbing, Minnesota and received his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in mathematics from the University of St. Thomas
University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)
The University of St. Thomas is a private, Catholic, liberal arts, and archdiocesan university located in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States...
in St. Paul Minnesota in 1969 and a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in information and computer science
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...
from Georgia Tech in 1972.
Early career
His first academic appointment was at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, but in 1976 he returned to Georgia Tech as an Associate Professor of Information and Computer Science, where he established a long-term collaboration with Richard Lipton. This collaboration led to a ground-breaking analysis of formal methods in computer science, the establishment of a new method for software testing, called Program Mutation among other results. In 1977, he collaborated with Lawrence LandweberLawrence Landweber
Lawrence H. Landweber is John P. Morgridge Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.He received his bachelor's degree in 1963 at Brooklyn College and his Ph.D. at Purdue University in 1967...
to create THEORYNET, an early store-and-forward computer network that was the predecessor of NSFNet, a network that was ultimately absorbed by the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and managed by NSF until 1989.
From 1981 to 1987 DeMillo was the Director of the Software Test and Evaluation Project for the US Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
(DoD). He is widely credited with developing the DoD’s policy for test and evaluation of software-intensive systems. In 1987, he moved to Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
where he was named Professor of Computer Science and Director of The Software Engineering Research Center. In 1989, he became Director of the National Science Foundation Computer and Computation Research Division and presided over the growth of high performance computing and computational science programs. He also held a visiting professorship at the University of Padua
University of Padua
The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...
in Padua, Italy where he led the formation of a successful post-graduate program in software engineering.
In 1995 he became Vice President and General Manager of Information and Computer Science Research at Bellcore (which later became Telcordia Technologies
Telcordia Technologies
Telcordia Technologies, formerly Bell Communications Research, Inc. or Bellcore, is a telecommunications research and development company based in the United States created as part of the 1982 Modification of Final Judgment that broke up American Telephone & Telegraph...
), leading the invention of new technologies for e-commerce, networking and communications. In 1997, he collaborated with Richard Lipton and Daniel Boneh to create the “Differential Fault Analysis” method of cryptanalysis, leading to a strengthening of existing standards for internet security
Internet security
Internet security is a branch of computer security specifically related to the Internet. Its objective is to establish rules and measures to use against attacks over the Internet. The Internet represents an insecure channel for exchanging information leading to a high risk of intrusion or fraud,...
.
In 2000, DeMillo joined Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
(HP) as vice president and Chief Technology Officer
Chief technical officer
A chief technology officer is an executive-level position in a company or other entity whose occupant is focused on scientific and technological issues within an organization....
(CTO). While working at HP, he led the company’s introduction of a new processor architecture, a corporate trust and security strategy, and the company’s entry into open source software. He was the public spokesman for HP’s technology and one of the most visible figures in IT. In 2002, RSA Security appointed DeMillo to its Board of Directors, a position he held until 2007 when RSA was acquired by EMC
EMC Corporation
EMC Corporation , a Financial Times Global 500, Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company, develops, delivers and supports information infrastructure and virtual infrastructure hardware, software, and services. EMC is headquartered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, USA.Former Intel executive Richard Egan and his...
. He remained at HP through the company’s 2002 merger with Compaq
Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation is a personal computer company founded in 1982. Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it was acquired for US$25 billion by Hewlett-Packard....
computer and was named Vice President for Technology Strategy. He returned to Tech that August to serve as the new dean of the College of Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing
The College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology has roots stretching back to an Information Science degree established in 1964. In 1988, Georgia Tech president John Patrick Crecine elevated the School of Information and Computer Science to become the College of Computing, making...
.
Georgia Tech
Arriving in 2003, DeMillo replaced Peter A. FreemanPeter A. Freeman
Peter A. Freeman is the founding dean of Georgia Tech's College of Computing, a position he held from 1990 to 2002. Freeman was assistant director of the National Science Foundation from 2002 to 2007....
as Dean of the Georgia Tech College of Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing
The College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology has roots stretching back to an Information Science degree established in 1964. In 1988, Georgia Tech president John Patrick Crecine elevated the School of Information and Computer Science to become the College of Computing, making...
and led the college to a period of aggressive growth at a time when Computer Science enrollments were in decline nationally. He led the formation of 3 new schools, 7 new degree programs, 3 international programs, and 2 research centers. Under his tenure the ranking of Georgia Tech's graduate computer science programs rose from 14 to 9. He incorporated a broader focus into the College’s undergraduate programs and launched a new program called "Threads", a student-centered approach to undergraduate education that has influenced computer science programs nationally and internationally.
DeMillo was honored as an ACM
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...
Fellow in 2003 for "contributions to the engineering of reliable and secure software." In 2004, He was also honored as an AAAS Fellow.
In June 2008, shortly after long-time Georgia Tech President Wayne Clough
G. Wayne Clough
Gerald Wayne Clough is President Emeritus of the Georgia Institute of Technology and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, a position he has held since July 2008...
stepped down to become Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, DeMillo announced his resignation. In a subsequent interview DeMillo cited conflicts with his new academic superior as the reason for his departure.
External links
- College of Computing profile
- Institute profile
- Selected Publications of Richard DeMillo
- Interview with Richard DeMillo and DeMillo's resignation letter
- Richard Allan DeMillo at the Mathematics Genealogy ProjectMathematics Genealogy ProjectThe Mathematics Genealogy Project is a web-based database for the academic genealogy of mathematicians. As of September, 2010, it contained information on approximately 145,000 mathematical scientists who contribute to "research-level mathematics"...