Jennifer Rexford facts for kids

Jennifer Rexford is an American computer scientist. She is currently the Provost at Princeton University. This means she helps lead the entire university. She is also a special professor of Computer Science there.

Her work focuses on how computer networks operate. She studies things like how information travels across the internet. She also looks at how to measure network performance and how to manage these big systems.

Her Journey in Computer Science

Early Education

Jennifer Rexford started her college studies at Princeton University. She earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1991. After that, she went to the University of Michigan. There, she studied computer science and engineering. She earned a master's degree in 1993 and a doctorate (PhD) in 1996. Her PhD work was about making computer routers work better.

Working in Tech

While she was a student, Jennifer worked at Bell Labs for two summers. Bell Labs is a famous research company. After finishing her PhD, she joined AT&T Labs. She worked there from 1996 to 2005. In 2005, she joined the faculty at Princeton University. This means she became a professor there.

Awards and Recognition

Important Awards

Jennifer Rexford has won many important awards for her work.

• In 2005, she won the ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award. This award is for young computer professionals who make a big difference. She won it for her work on how different parts of the internet connect. She helped create rules for how these parts, owned by different companies, can share information. This is called Border Gateway Protocol.

• In 2016, she received the ACM Athena Lecturer award. This award honors women who have made huge contributions to computer science.

Joining Special Groups

Jennifer Rexford has also been invited to join several very important groups of scientists:

• She became a fellow of the ACM in 2008. This means she is recognized as a leading expert in computing.
• In 2013, she became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This group includes top thinkers and leaders.
• She was chosen to be a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2014. This was for her work in making large computer networks stable and reliable.
• In 2020, she was also elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences. This is one of the highest honors for scientists in the United States.

See also

• Frenetic (programming language)