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Predrag Relja Jelenkovic, assistant professor of electrical engineering in the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, has been named a recipient of the 1999 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). President Clinton granted him, along with 19 other National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported researchers, with the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers who are in the early stages of establishing their independent research careers and who have demonstrated a notable commitment to the integration of research and education.
Jelenkovic, who received his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1996 and has been teaching here since 1998, was presented the PECASE award at the White House Old Executive Office Building on April 11 by the President's science advisor, Neal Lane. Jelenkovic will receive $500,000 over a five-year period to further his research and educational efforts.
Jelenkovic was selected for this distinction for his work on modeling network behavior with applications to quality-of-service management, and a networking educational program combining theoretical results with practical experience.
When he was asked to explain this in layman's terms, Jelenkovic said, "When you pick up the phone you expect to get a dial tone--it's rare that you get a circuits busy signal. That's how I would like to see access to the internet working."
His work involves analyzing network traffic in order to properly size the bandwidth, memory and switching capacity of systems to accommodate customer demand. He offered this comparison, "If you were going to build a dormitory, you would want to know first how many students you expected."
The Clinton Administration established the PECASE awards in February 1996 to recognize some of the nation's finest scientists and engineers and to maintain U.S. leadership across the frontiers of scientific research. Eighty NSF-supported faculty members have received this presidential honor since it was initiated four years ago. NSF selects its PECASE nominees from among its most meritorious Faculty Early Career Development awardees, exceptionally promising college and university junior faculty who are committed to the integration of research and education.
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