Jerry Saltzer

[Login to edit Jerry Saltzer profile] Position: Professor Emeritus Office: Phone: +1 (617) 253-6016 Email: saltzer@mit.edu Areas of Study: Computer Systems Personal Website Last Update: February 7, 2011 Download vCard

Biography

Professor Saltzer, who formally retired in 1995 but continued actively teaching until 2005, has had a long-standing interest in computer systems and communications, with a concern for the impact of these systems on society, especially on privacy and the risks of depending on fragile technology. He developed the EECS department core subject on the engineering of computer systems, for which he is currently preparing a textbook. He created TYPSET, an early context editor, and RUNOFF, the ancestor of most type-setting formatters. He participated in the later development of the Compatible Time-Sharing System (CTSS) and was deeply involved in the design of Multics, including its security features, the first kernel thread package, the first time-of-century clock, and development of what would today be known as a micro-kernel. Together with Michael Schroeder, he articulated a set of security design principles that are widely cited, and together with David Clark and David Reed, he articulated the end-to-end argument, a key organizing principle of the Internet. From 1984 through 1988 he was Technical Director of M. I. T. Project Athena, a system of networked engineering workstations for undergraduate education.

In addition to computer science, Professor Saltzer dabbles in the history of nineteenth century art of the western United States. He is preparing a catalog of the paintings of Frederick Ferdinand Schafer.