Ian Foster

Who is Ian Foster?

Ian T. Foster is the Director of the Computation Institute in Chicago. He is also a Distinguished Fellow and Senior Scientist in the Mathematics and Computer Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory, and a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Chicago.

Foster's research focuses on the acceleration of discovery in a networked world. With Carl Kesselman and Steve Tuecke, Foster invented grid computing, the de facto computation standard for data-intensive, multi-institution collaboration that paved the way for cloud computing. Methods and software developed under his leadership underpin many large national and international cyberinfrastructures and have advanced discovery in such areas as high energy physics, environmental science, and biomedicine. Grid computing was credited by CERN director Rolf-Dieter Heuer as one of the elements essential for the 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson.

His research has also resulted in the development of techniques, tools and algorithms for high-performance distributed computing and parallel computing. His Globus Project encourages collaborative computing by providing advances necessary for engineering, business and other fields. His most recent effort, Globus Online, is a cloud-based service that transforms how researchers manage, share and analyze big data. In 2004, Foster co-founded Univa Corporation to bring advances in grid and distributed computing to commercial applications.