Donald Becker

Co-creator of the Beowulf clustering software, Becker is known throughout the international community of operating system developers for his contributions to networking software. The Beowulf clustering software connected many inexpensive PCs to solve complex math problems typically reserved for classic supercomputers, and is the cornerstone for commodity-based high-performance cluster computing. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and his work in parallel and distributed computing began in 1983 at MIT's Real Time Systems group.

After MIT, he worked as a researcher at the Institute for Defense Analyses Supercomputing Research Center, working on parallel compilers, specialized computational techniques, and various networking projects. In collaboration with Thomas Sterling, Becker created the Beowulf Parallel Workstation project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

He made significant contributions to the Linux kernel, most visibly in providing very broad support for networking devices. Becker has served as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Scyld Computer Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Penguin Computing, a developer and supplier of Beowulf Clusters. He is co-author of "How To Build a Beowulf: A guide to the Implementation and Application of PC Clusters". He also co-edited the Extreme.Linux CD-ROM, the first packaged Beowulf software distribution.

With colleagues from the California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech) and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, he received the IEEE Computer Society 1997 Gordon Bell Prize for Price/Performance. In 1999 Becker received the Dr. Dobb's Excellence in Programming Award, which is presented annually to individuals who, "in the spirit of innovation and cooperation, have made significant contributions to the advancement of software development."