Krishan Sabnani
Krishan Sabnani, Homewood Distinguished Professor in the Department of Computer Science, has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, a distinction that recognizes and honors those who have created or facilitated outstanding inventions that have had an impact on society. Election as an NAI Fellow is the highest professional distinction awarded to academic inventors.
Krishan is a networking researcher who has made many seminal contributions to internet infrastructure design, protocol design, and wireless networks. His groundbreaking work helped shape both the internet and cellular networks, substantially reducing network infrastructure costs.
His breakthrough discovery in internet redesign was to separate control functions and complex software from the forwarding portions on internet routers. This work made it possible for forwarding technologies (e.g., different link layers and switching protocols) to evolve and be deployed independently from control protocols (e.g., routing, security). This contribution was a precursor to the current Software Defined Networking (SDN) revolution. He was also the first to develop a systematic approach to conformance testing, allowing communications systems to work together and reducing test time from weeks to a few hours.
Krishan is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and he will be formally inducted as a Fellow at the 12th Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Inventors in June in Washington, D.C.