In October 2009, National LambdaRail (NLR) was a high-performance network dedicated to research & education in the United States. They announced the appointment of Dr. Glenn Ricart as its new President and CEO. This leadership reversal marked a significant step in NLR’s mission to advance networking capabilities for academic as well as research communities.
About National LambdaRail (NLR)
NLR is a coast-to-coast, 12,000-mile network infrastructure. It is owned by the U.S. research & education community. It serves as a platform for innovation across multiple academic disciplines & public-private partnerships. This network offers:
- Unrestricted usage as well as bandwidth
- A selection of advanced network services & applications
- Personalized services tailored to individual researchers & projects
Dr. Glenn Ricart’s Appointment
Dr. Ricart’s broad background in networking & Internet leadership spans higher education, research, private industry & also government service. His appointment as CEO was effective or started from November 2009.
Key Highlights of Dr. Ricart’s Career:
1. Internet Innovations:
- Managed the first application of Internet protocols for the IBM PC.
- Developed the first NSFnet local network.
- Fulfilled the first Internet interconnection point (FIX) for the U.S. federal government.
2. Corporate Leadership:
- Served as Chief Technology Officer at Novell under three CEOs. This included names like Eric Schmidt, who later became CEO of Google.
3. Research & Development:
- As Managing Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Center for Advanced Research. This oversaw all research activities as well as budgets.
- He led the Aura project, making an electronic performance support system for PwC’s global audit practice.
4. Entrepreneurship & Government Service:
- Founded about three technology startups.
- Served as a program manager at DARPA & also as the military’s technology liaison to the Clinton White House.
- He was on the position of Chief Computing Officer at the University of Maryland College Park.
- He also co-founded SURAnet, the first Internet service jobholder offering commercial connections.
5. Education:
- Earned B.S. as well as M.S. degrees from Case Western Reserve University.
- He also received a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland College Park.
Vision for NLR
With Dr. Ricart at the command, NLR aimed to build upon its strong foundation & explore new opportunities in research & education networking. His disparate experience positioned him to guide NLR in expanding its services & also fostering innovation across multiple sectors.
Future Outlook Under Dr. Ricart’s Leadership
Dr. Glenn Ricart’s assignation signaled a forward-looking vision for National LambdaRail. With his deep knowledge in networking technologies as well as broad leadership background, NLR was audacious to enhance its role in groundbreaking research & collaborative science.
Under his leadership, the organization planned to:
- Strengthen collaborations with universities, government & industry.
- Enhance high-speed networking access for more research organizations.
- Support amazing research in areas like climate science, medicine & advanced computing.
- Innovate new networking techs curated to the evolving needs of data-driven science.
Dr. Ricart’s leadership promised a great future for NLR & its stakeholders.
