Stanley Zdonik
Encyclopedia
Stanley Zdonik is a computer scientist
specializing in database management system
s. He is currently a tenured professor
of computer science
at Brown University
. Zdonik has lived in the Boston
area his entire life. After completing a two bachelors and two master's degrees at MIT, he then earned a PhD in database management under Michael Hammer
.
In the mid-seventies, Dr. Zdonik worked on the Prophet data management system for pharmacologists at Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc. After becoming a professor at Brown University during the early 1980s, Zdonik became a leading researcher in object-oriented databases
. He has over one hundred peer-reviewed papers in the database field and was named an ACM Fellow in 2006. More recently, he has been involved in the development of several notable database projects with other well-known researchers, such as Michael Stonebraker
and Sam Madden. These projects include the Aurora and Borealis stream processing
engines, the C-Store
column store database, and the H-Store
parallel, main memory OLTP system. He has also served as a member of the VLDB
Board of Trustees and has been the general chair for several major database conferences.
Outside of academia, Zdonik is a co-founder for both the StreamBase and Vertica
companies, as well as being a technical advisor for Attivio
.
mandolin
musician and aficionado. He is currently the president of the International Bluegrass Music Association
and the founder of the Boston Bluegrass Union.
degrees during his career, all from MIT.
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....
specializing in database management system
Database management system
A database management system is a software package with computer programs that control the creation, maintenance, and use of a database. It allows organizations to conveniently develop databases for various applications by database administrators and other specialists. A database is an integrated...
s. He is currently a tenured professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of 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...
at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
. Zdonik has lived in the Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
area his entire life. After completing a two bachelors and two master's degrees at MIT, he then earned a PhD in database management under Michael Hammer
Michael Hammer
Michael Martin Hammer was an American engineer, management author, and a former professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , known as one of the founders of the management theory of Business process reengineering .- Biography:Hammer, the child of Holocaust...
.
In the mid-seventies, Dr. Zdonik worked on the Prophet data management system for pharmacologists at Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc. After becoming a professor at Brown University during the early 1980s, Zdonik became a leading researcher in object-oriented databases
Object database
An object database is a database management system in which information is represented in the form of objects as used in object-oriented programming...
. He has over one hundred peer-reviewed papers in the database field and was named an ACM Fellow in 2006. More recently, he has been involved in the development of several notable database projects with other well-known researchers, such as Michael Stonebraker
Michael Stonebraker
Michael Ralph Stonebraker is a computer scientist specializing in database research.Through a series of academic prototypes and commercial startups, Stonebraker's research and products are central to many relational database systems on the market today...
and Sam Madden. These projects include the Aurora and Borealis stream processing
Stream processing
Stream processing is a computer programming paradigm, related to SIMD , that allows some applications to more easily exploit a limited form of parallel processing...
engines, the C-Store
C-Store
C-Store was a database management system based on a column-oriented DBMS developed by a team at Brown University, Brandeis University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, including Michael Stonebraker, Stanley Zdonik, and Samuel Madden ....
column store database, and the H-Store
H-Store
H-Store is an experimental database management system designed for online transaction processing applications that is being developed by a team at Brown University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Yale University....
parallel, main memory OLTP system. He has also served as a member of the VLDB
VLDB
VLDB is an annual conference held by the non-profit Very Large Data Base Endowment Inc.. The mission of VLDB is to promote and exchange scholarly work in databases and related fields throughout the world...
Board of Trustees and has been the general chair for several major database conferences.
Outside of academia, Zdonik is a co-founder for both the StreamBase and Vertica
Vertica
Vertica Systems is an analytic database management software company. Vertica was founded in 2005 by database researcher Michael Stonebraker, and Andrew Palmer; its President and CEO is Christopher P. Lynch. HP announced it would acquire the company in February 2011. On March 22, 2011, HP completed...
companies, as well as being a technical advisor for Attivio
Attivio
Attivio, Inc., is a privately held Newton, Massachusetts-based enterprise software company that produces and sells a unified information access platform that lets users find all types of information with a single query and analyze data extracted from text along with traditional data.Attivio's core...
.
Bluegrass
Zdonik is also an avid bluegrassBluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
musician and aficionado. He is currently the president of the International Bluegrass Music Association
International Bluegrass Music Association
The International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a trade association to promote bluegrass music.Formed in 1985, IBMA established its first headquarters in Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1988 they announced plans to create the International Bluegrass Music Museum as a joint venture with...
and the founder of the Boston Bluegrass Union.
Education
Prof. Zdonik has received a remarkable number of non-honoraryHonorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
degrees during his career, all from MIT.
- Ph.D., Computer Science, June 1983. Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
. - M.S., Computer Science, 1980. Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
. - E.E., Electrical Engineering, 1980. Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
. - B.S., Computer Science, 1970. Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
. - B.S., Electrical Engineering, 1970. Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
.