Peter J. Denning

Name: Peter J. Denning
Title: Professor of Computer Science
University Coordinator for Process Reengineering
Company: George Mason University (GMU)

How I arrived at my present job (academic and other influences): My career has been devoted to helping others, especially young people, learn about computing, and anticipating people's needs through computing research. Around 1990, after 9 years with NASA, my wife and I, both academics at heart, moved east from California. We chose the Washington, DC, area because of its rich group of well-known universities and its proximity to the national government.

How I organize my day: My day begins at 5:00 with 90 minutes of stretching and exercise. I often work at home until 10am to avoid wasting half an hour in commuter traffic. I work in the office till 6:00pm, and use the evening for reading and relaxation, turning in around 11:30pm. I organize my actions around my commitments. I seldom fail to deliver a promise on time and I frequently say no to new requests that are not aligned with my commitments and missions.

Amount of time spent working daily (at home and office): 8-10 hours weekdays, another 10 hours weekends, for 50-60 total.

What I do to get myself thinking creatively: Read. Write. Engage in conversations with other people. It feels like I'm thinking creatively all the time.

My problem-solving strategy: Work simple examples. Build prototypes. Experiment. Make mistakes and learn from them. Request help from other people. Let my mind work on it in the background. Be patient, the solution will come. If the problem can't be solved immediately, renegotiate commitments with other people so that everyone knows what is going on and the pressure to solve the problem diminishes.

What I do to relieve stress: Daily meditative practice about 30 minutes. Breathing exercises. Prayer. Discussing concerns with other people. Avoiding commitments for which I do not have the capacity to deliver.

My hero, mentor, or person I most admire and why: There are many. My father and my mother. My daughters. Dorothy Denning, computer security expert extraordinaire and my wife. Pope John Paul, for his unwavering religious leadership. William Buckley, for his ability with words and intellectual leadership of political moderation. Martin Gardner, for his ability to communicate mathematics. Issac Asimov, for this prolific writings and wonderful story-telling. Jerry Saltzer, for his clear thinking about systems. David Parnas, for his clear thinking about software engineering. Maurice Wilkes, for his leadership in computer architecture. Richard Feynman, for his ability to communicate his love of science. Ralph Money, my high school math teacher, for his faith that I could invent great things. Robert Weil, my dean of engineering at Manhattan College, for encouraging me to go to MIT for graduate school when everyone else was discouraging me.

What I do to mentor those who work for me: Create situations in which they must "invent it for themselves". It's the philosophy of "give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach him to fish, feed him for a lifetime." Demand honesty.

How a negative event changed my life in a positive way: I look for opportunities to learn from all events in life. The smallest events can have the most impact on my mood, so I look to them for the most learning. For example, I found myself cursing my memory for failing to put my car keys in my pocket before coming downstairs in the morning; so I moved the storage location of the keys downstairs. No more aggravation of forgetting and walking up two flights of stairs.

One event or decision in my life I wish I could go back and change: I have no regrets.

What values are the most important to me and what I value in others: Honesty. Willingness to share negative assessments that can endanger the team if left unspoken. Trustworthiness. Humility. Unpretentious. Managing promises and commitments.

What inspires, motivates, or gets me excited about my job on a daily basis: Expressions of gratitude from my students about what they have learned and what new actions they now can take.

Biography: PETER J. DENNING is Professor of Computer Science and University Coordinator for Process Reengineering at George Mason University. He served previously as vice provost for continuing professional education, associate dean for computing, and chair of the Computer Science Department in the School of Information Technology and Engineering. He is founding director emeritus of the Hyperlearning Center, formerly the Center for the New Engineer, founded in 1993. He was the founding director of the Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science at the NASA Ames Research Center, was co-founder of CSNET, and was head of the computer science department at Purdue. He received a PhD from MIT and BEE from Manhattan College. He was president of the Association for Computing Machinery 1980-82, chair of the ACM publications board 1992-98 where he led the development of the ACM digital library, and is now chair of the ACM Education Board and chair of the ACM Information Technology Profession Initiative. He has published six books and 270 articles on computers, networks, and their operating systems, and is working on three more books. He holds two honorary degrees, three professional society fellowships, two best-paper awards, two distinguished service awards, the ACM Outstanding Contribution Award, the ACM SIGCSE Outstanding CS Educator Award, and the prestigious ACM Karl Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award.

Last Modified: Tuesday, 13-May-2003 10:14:26 EDT
Location: www.acm.org/crossroads/dayinlife/bios/peter_denning.html