Institute IMDEA Networks appoints Prof. Dr. Zhi-Li Zhang as Visiting Researcher

01 March 2012

Dr. Zhang brings to the team extensive research experience in areas broadly including computer communication and networks, Internet technology, multimedia and emerging applications.

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Institute IMDEA Networks, a research institute in the area of computer networking backed by the Madrid Regional Government, has announced that Dr. Zhi-Li Zhang has joined the Institute in February 2012 in the role of Visiting Researcher, bringing to the research team extensive experience in computer communication and networks, Internet technology, multimedia and emerging applications. Dr. Zhang has simultaneously been appointed to the eminent role of Cátedra de Excelencia (Chair of Excellence) at the University Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M).

Dr. Zhang’s current research is mainly focused on the development of the Internet as a critical global information infrastructure, focusing on addressing the challenges posed by the current high availability, reliability, mobility, manageability and security demands of Internet applications, users, and service providers alike. During his stay in Madrid, Dr. Zhang will be focusing on two main research areas. Firstly, on building highly scalable, resilient and secure Internet infrastructure and mechanisms to enhance Internet service availability, reliability and security. Secondly, on the development of next-generation, service-oriented, manageable Internet architectures to provide better support for the creation, deployment, operations and management of value-added Internet services and underlying networks.

Apart from pursuing his own scientific interests and sharing his expertise, Dr. Zhang will continue to develop synergies and create collaborations with the Institute – which he already initiated during his role of Member of its Scientific Council, which he held from July 2007 to November 2010. He will join the Institute in various activities, such as mentoring young researchers, organizing scientific seminars, and supporting current research projects, amongst others.

Dr. Zhang is currently Qwest Chair Professor in Telecommunications in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (USA). He received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (USA) in 1992 and 1997, respectively, and a B.S. in Computer Science with highest distinction from Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.

Dr. Zhang’s scientific track record gives testimony to a meritorious career. He has authored nearly two hundred peer-reviewed publications and has served on the editorial board of some of the main periodicals in the field of communications and computer networks: IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, Elsevier’s Computer Network, an International Journal, and the Chinese Academy of Science’s Journal of Computer Science and Technology, to mention but a few. In addition, his curriculum of scientific service includes co-chairing the Technical Program Committee of IEEE INFOCOM 2006 and ACM/USENIX Internet Measurement Conference (ACM/USENIX IMC’08), as well as the participation on Technical Program Committees for various conferences and workshops, including key venues for the diffusion of computer science and networking scientific results, such ACM SIGCOMM, ACM SIGMETRICS, ACM/USENIX IMC, IEEE INFOCOM, IEEE ICNP and ACM CoNEXT.

Dr. Zhang is a recipient of the prestigious NSF’s CAREER award. He has also been awarded the McKnight Land-Grant Professorship and George Taylor Distinguished Research Award at the University of Minnesota, and the Miller Visiting Professorship at Miller Institute for Basic Sciences, University of California, Berkeley. In addition, Dr. Zhang is a co-recipient of an ACM SIGMETRICS Best Paper Award, an IEEE International Conference on Network Protocols (ICNP) Best Paper Award, and an IEEE INFOCOM Best Paper Award. He is a Fellow of the IEEE.