Dr. Steven R. Hetzler

A 2010 IBM Fellow at IBM?s Almaden Research Center, San Jose, California, he manages the Storage Architecture Research group. He initiated work on what became Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) data storage systems and markets and applications for nonvolatile memories. iSCSI is a protocol for managing storage over IP networks that he initiated within IBM Research. It is an Internet Protocol (IP)-based storage networking standard for linking data storage facilities. He is also credited with naming iSCSI. His group wrote the first draft specification, developed the first working iSCSI demonstrations, including the first direct network-attached DVD movie multiplex, and was active in helping develop iSCSI into an industry standard. A prolific inventor, he has been issued 35 patents for inventions in a wide range of topics ? including data storage systems and architecture, optics, error correction coding and power management. His most notable patents include split-data field recording (issued in 1993) and the No-ID(TM) headerless sector format (issued in 1995), which have been used by nearly all magnetic hard-disk-drive manufacturers for a number of years. He also pioneered the first adaptive power technology for disk drives, which is also widely used in disk drives for mobile computers. In addition to being named IBM Fellow; the highest honor a scientist, engineer, or programmer at IBM can achieve, he has received numerous IBM awards for his work, including three Corporate Awards, and a Corporate Environmental Affairs Excellence Award. He is a member of the American Physical Society, a senior member of the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers and a member of the IBM Academy of Technology. He received his B.A. degree in Physics from Carleton College in the Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota area and his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Caltech, in the greater Los Angeles Area in 1985. He is currently focusing on novel architectures for storage systems.