David P. Reed

Recognized as a worldwide expert on networks, decentralized computing platforms, and group information systems, Reed contributed significantly to the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) technology that underlies today's Internet and World Wide Web.

His lifelong research interests focus on designing systems that manage, communicate and manipulate information shared among people. He is best known for co-developing the Internet design principle known as the "end-to-end argument" and also for "Reed's Law," which explains why the utility of large, group-forming networks scales exponentially with their size -- that is, as networks get larger, group formation becomes the primary generator of value. More recently, his exploration of capacity-scaling in cooperative wireless networks has had a significant influence on U.S. spectrum policy directions.

In addition to his work at HP Labs, Reed is an adjunct professor in the Viral Communications group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, where HP is a major corporate sponsor. Reed also will co-direct the MIT Communications Futures Program.

Reed has been an independent consultant to the computer industry for a number of years. Previously, he was a senior research scientist at Interval Research Corporate and vice president and chief scientist for Lotus Development Corporation. Reed also was vice president of research and development and chief scientist at Software Arts.

He was a faculty member in MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) from 1978 to 1983, working in the Laboratory for Computer Science. He has earned bachelor's, master's, electrical engineering and doctoral degrees in EECS.