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April 20, 2007 Vol. 77, no.
12S
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| PEG SKORPINSKI
PHOTO |
Professor Minute with EECS professor Scott Shenker
EECS professor Scott Shenker received his Sc.B. in physics from Brown
University in 1978 and his Ph.D. in physics from the University of
Chicago in 1983. His research interests vary from computer performance
modeling to computer networks, from game theory to economics. His recent
work has focused on Internet architecture and related issues.
What first inspired you to go into engineering?
I had no interest in computer science, but one day I attended a seminar
on the stability properties of Ethernet and became intrigued with
Ethernet’s behavior as it approaches overload. That first taste
of computer networking started me down a path that has resulted in
my joining the Berkeley EECS department.
To date, what has been the most memorable moment in your career?
On a flight returning from a chaos conference where several of my peers
and I had given invited presentations, I happened to sit next to Subrahmanyan
Chandrasekhar, a winner of the 1983 Nobel prize in physics whose theories
about the evolution of stars led to the concept of black holes. When
I asked him what he thought of chaos, he said, “This field reminds
me of the early days of black hole research; very good science being
done by not very good scientists.” The kindly but knowing smile
behind that incisive comment has stayed with me to this day; being
in the right place at the right time doesn’t make you smart,
just lucky.
What should engineering students make sure they do at Berkeley before
they graduate?
I would suggest taking as many non-engineering courses as possible.
There will be plenty of opportunities to learn more engineering in
your career, but when else will you be able to take a course in existential
philosophy or French literature or cultural anthropology?
What is one thing you would like to learn how to do?
I’d love to be fluent in a foreign language. Unfortunately, my
mind has never taken easily to languages, so I think this will be a
forever unfulfilled wish. In lieu of that, I’d like to learn
how to relax.
If you would like us to feature your favorite professor, please e-mail
his or her name to engnews@coe.berkeley.edu. |
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