2005 Nov 18
A transformational gift by one of the University of Waterloo's distinguished alumni will launch a new era of accomplishment in Computer Science teaching and research as UW heads into its sixth decade.
David R. Cheriton, (MMath '74, PhD '78), now a Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University, has donated $25 million Cdn to the UW School of Computer Science, part of the world's largest Faculty of Mathematics.
The gift will establish the David R. Cheriton Endowment for Excellence in Computer Science, an endowment that will fund research chairs, faculty fellowships and graduate scholarships. (See backgrounders below for details.)
In recognition of this extremely generous gift the school will be named the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science.
Cheriton is a distinguished alumnus of the School of Computer Science. After receiving his master's degree and doctorate from UW he spent three years as Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia. He then embarked on a distinguished career at Stanford University where he is Professor of Computer Science and heads the Stanford University Distributed Systems Group.
He is widely known for his extraordinary research contributions in high-performance scalable systems, Internet architecture and hardware-software interaction, and successful commercialization of his research results. His current interests include distributed systems, next-generation Internet architecture, operating systems and object-oriented design techniques.
Cheriton received a SIGCOMM Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Computing Machinery in 2003.
In addition to his achievements in research, Cheriton has been involved in a number of startup companies both as co-founder and investor and has acted as a technical adviser to a number of prominent Silicon Valley companies including Sun Microsystems, Cisco, Google, VMware and Tibco. He was named one of Forbes Magazine's Top Ten Venture Capitalists (2005) based on his seed investment in Google.
When asked why he has made this incredible gift to create the David R. Cheriton Endowment for Excellence in Computer Science, Cheriton said: "The University of Waterloo was a transformational experience for me, taking me from a naive undergraduate to the leading edge of computing research and providing the basis for my career. More personally, I treasure the friends I made at Waterloo and fond memories of those times. I am delighted to be in a position to give back to Waterloo and excited by what this gift may enable, building on Waterloo's strong faculty, students and reputation. Education is the best investment one can make, as I thankfully figured out early on."
UW President David Johnston called the gift a "stunning endorsement of the University of Waterloo."
"We thank David for his enormous faith in UW, in what we have achieved and in our vision for the future," Johnston said. "This gift means we will be able to reach higher in our pursuit of excellence in mathematics and computer sciences for years to come."
Thomas Coleman, new Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics, welcomed the gift as an investment in the brainpower of current and future generations of computer scientists. "I have always known that Waterloo is an exceptional place for the study of mathematics and computer science, but David's gift simply underscores that what we have achieved is only the beginning."
On behalf of the School of Computer Science, an appreciative Director Johnny Wong said: "The school is committed to research excellence. The gift will have a lasting impact on our school. It enables us to significantly enhance our research activities through new chairs, fellowships and scholarships."
Former Dean of Mathematics, Alan George, who taught Cheriton in the 1970s, was gratified that such an accomplished graduate of the UW has paid such a tribute to the education and experience that he received while a student in Computer Science at Waterloo. "David has symbolized the Waterloo spirit of innovation and commitment to excellence throughout his remarkable career, and we are very proud of him."
One of the key outcomes of the gift will be an annual symposium to be hosted on campus by the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science. It will highlight the work of the Cheriton Chairs, Fellows and Scholars. The inaugural symposium will take place in September 2006.
David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
Tel: 519-888-4567 x33293
Fax: 519-885-1208
Contact | Feedback: newseditor@cs.uwaterloo.ca | David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science | Faculty of Mathematics
Last modified: Friday, 18-Nov-2005 17:12:08 EST
