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Margo Seltzer
MargoSeltzer 2012.jpg
Seltzer in 2012.
Nationality American
Education Radcliffe College (BA)
University of California, Berkeley (PhD)
Spouse(s) Keith Bostic
Scientific career
Fields Computer science
Institutions University of British Columbia
Thesis File System Performance and Transaction Support (1992)
Doctoral advisor Michael Stonebraker

Margo Ilene Seltzer is an American computer scientist. She studies how computer systems work. She helps make them faster and more reliable.

Currently, she holds important positions at the University of British Columbia. She is the Canada 150 Research Chair in Computer Systems. She is also the Cheriton Family Chair in Computer Science. Before this, Seltzer was a professor at Harvard University. She worked at their John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Education and Early Work

HarryRLewis Harvard AppliedSciences11 TeachingFellows Halloween1982
Margo Seltzer (left) with other teaching assistants at Harvard in 1982.

Margo Seltzer studied applied mathematics at Radcliffe College. She earned her bachelor's degree in 1983. While there, she was a teaching assistant for professor Harry R. Lewis at Harvard University.

Later, in 1992, she earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science. This degree was from the University of California, Berkeley. Her main research was about how computer file systems work. She focused on making them perform better. Her work on log-structured file systems is very well-known. These systems help computers store and find information quickly.

Career in Academia

Teaching at Harvard

Seltzer started teaching computer science at Harvard University in 1992. She became an assistant professor. By 1997, she was an associate professor. She earned special titles like Gordon McKay Professor in 2000. In 2004, she became the Herchel Smith Professor of Computer Science.

From 2005 to 2010, she was a Harvard College Professor. This award recognized her excellent teaching for college students. She also helped lead the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. She advised women studying computer science at Harvard.

Moving to British Columbia

In September 2018, Seltzer joined the University of British Columbia. She became a professor in their Computer Science Department. She holds two special research chairs there. These positions allow her to continue her important work in computer systems.

In February 2019, she was chosen as a member of the National Academy of Engineering. This is a very high honor for engineers in the United States.

Career in Business and Leadership

Starting a Software Company

In 1996, Margo Seltzer helped start a company called Sleepycat Software. This company created a special database called Berkeley DB. A database is like an organized collection of information. Berkeley DB helps programs store and manage data efficiently.

Seltzer was the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Sleepycat Software. She held this role until 2006. That year, a larger company, Oracle Corporation, bought Sleepycat Software. She continued to work on the Berkeley DB team at Oracle for several years.

Leadership and Awards

Seltzer was a director for USENIX from 2005 to 2014. USENIX is a group for people who work with advanced computing systems. She served as vice president and then president of the group. In 2019, she received the USENIX Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognized her important work on Berkeley DB. It also honored her dedication to the USENIX community.

In 2011, Seltzer was named a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery. This is another major award in the computer world. It recognized her amazing achievements in computing. In July 2020, she accepted the SIGMOD Software Systems award. This award was for the Sleepycat Software team's work.

Personal Life

Margo Seltzer is married to Keith Bostic. He is also a software developer.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Margo Seltzer para niños

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