Michael Stonebraker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michael Stonebraker
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Michael Stonebraker giving the 2015 Turing lecture
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| Born | October 11, 1943 |
| Alma mater | Princeton University (BSE) University of Michigan (MS, PhD) |
| Known for | Ingres, Postgres, Vertica, Streambase, Illustra, VoltDB, SciDB |
| Spouse(s) | Beth |
| Awards | IEEE John von Neumann Medal (2005) ACM Turing Award (2014) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer science |
| Institutions | University of California, Berkeley University of Michigan Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Thesis | The Reduction of Large Scale Markov Models for Random Chains |
| Doctoral advisor | Arch Waugh Naylor |
| Notable students | Joseph M. Hellerstein Clifford A. Lynch Margo Seltzer Dale Skeen Marti Hearst Leilani Battle |
Michael Ralph Stonebraker (born October 11, 1943) is an American computer scientist. He is famous for his work on database systems. Databases are like organized digital filing cabinets that store huge amounts of information.
Through his research and the companies he started, Stonebraker's ideas are key to how many modern databases work. He founded several database companies, including Ingres Corporation, Illustra, StreamBase Systems, Tamr, and Vertica. He also worked as the chief technical officer for Informix. For his important contributions, Stonebraker received the 2014 Turing Award. This award is often called "the Nobel Prize for computing."
Stonebraker's career has two main parts. First, at the University of California, Berkeley, he focused on relational database management systems like Ingres and Postgres. Later, starting in 2001, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he worked on newer ways to manage data. These included projects like C-Store, H-Store, and SciDB. Today, Stonebraker is a professor emeritus at UC Berkeley and an adjunct professor at MIT.
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Early Life and Awards
Michael Stonebraker grew up in Milton, New Hampshire. He studied electrical engineering at Princeton University, graduating in 1965. He then earned his master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1967 and 1971.
He has received many awards for his work. These include the IEEE John von Neumann Medal and the first SIGMOD Edgar F. Codd Innovations Award. In 1994, he became a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery. He was also elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1997. In 2015, he won the 2014 ACM Turing Award.
The Berkeley Years (1971–2000)
Stonebraker became a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1971. He taught computer science there for 29 years. During this time, he did his groundbreaking work on relational databases.
Ingres Database
In 1973, Stonebraker and his colleague Eugene Wong began studying relational database systems. They were inspired by papers from Edgar F. Codd, who created the idea of the relational data model.
Their project was called Ingres (Interactive Graphics and Retrieval System). It was one of the first systems to show that a practical relational database could be built. Many ideas from Ingres are still used today. These include using B-trees to organize data and rules for keeping data correct.
By the mid-1970s, Stonebraker's team had a working relational database system. Ingres was seen as a "smaller" option compared to IBM's System R. It ran on Unix-based machines, not huge IBM mainframes.
In the early 1980s, these smaller machines became powerful enough to compete with mainframes. Ingres became a very useful product. Stonebraker and other professors founded Relational Technology, Inc., which later became Ingres Corporation. Other companies, like Sybase, also started based on Ingres. Sybase's code was later used for Microsoft SQL Server.
Postgres Database
After Ingres, Stonebraker and his team started a new project called POSTGRES (POST inGRES). They wanted to improve the relational model. Postgres allowed databases to handle more complex types of data. It also made it easier for programmers to add new features.
Postgres was also offered for free use, and its code is the basis for the popular free software, PostgreSQL. Stonebraker also helped create a company called Illustra to sell a commercial version of Postgres. Informix later bought Illustra. PostgreSQL has also been used to start other companies like Aster Data Systems and Greenplum.
Informix bought Illustra in 1996. Stonebraker became Informix's Chief Technical Officer until 2000. Informix then combined Illustra's features into its own database products.
Mariposa and Cohera
After Postgres, Stonebraker started the Mariposa project. This project led to the company Cohera Corporation. Mariposa created a federated database. This system could combine and query data from many different organizations. It used an economic model where organizations would "charge" for using their data.
Cohera aimed to sell Mariposa's technology. It later focused on managing product catalogs for businesses. PeopleSoft bought Cohera's technology in 2001. This technology was then used in PeopleSoft's catalog management system. Oracle Corporation later bought PeopleSoft in 2004.
The MIT Years (2001–Present)
In 2001, Stonebraker became a professor at MIT. There, he started new research projects and founded more companies.
Aurora and StreamBase
In the Aurora Project, Stonebraker and his colleagues worked on managing data that arrives continuously, like a stream. This is different from traditional databases that pull data when needed. In Aurora, data is "pushed" to the system as it arrives from sources like stock prices or sensors. The system then sends out results, such as averages.
Stonebraker co-founded StreamBase Systems in 2003 to sell the technology from Aurora.
C-Store and Vertica
The C-Store project, started in 2005, focused on a new type of database for data warehousing. This database stores data in columns instead of rows. Storing data in columns means the system needs to read less information. This makes it faster and allows for better data compression.
Stonebraker explained that this works because similar data items are stored together (like Name, Name, Name). In 2005, Stonebraker co-founded Vertica to commercialize the C-Store technology.
Morpheus and Goby
In 2006, Stonebraker began the Morpheus project. This project created a data integration system. It uses "transforms" to connect different data sources, like websites or services. Morpheus allows users to search and combine these transforms to create new services or get a combined view of several services.
In 2009, Stonebraker co-founded Goby. Goby was a company that helped people find new things to do in their free time. It was based on ideas from the Morpheus project.
H-Store and VoltDB
In 2007, Stonebraker started the H-Store project with researchers from other universities. H-Store is a system designed for very fast online transaction processing (OLTP). It stores data in the computer's main memory and works across many computers.
In 2009, Stonebraker co-founded VoltDB. This company sells a commercial product based on the ideas from the H-Store project.
SciDB
In 2008, Stonebraker and other researchers started SciDB. This is an open-source database system made especially for scientific research. It helps scientists manage and analyze large amounts of data.
He founded Paradigm4 with Marilyn Matz, which developed SciDB. SciDB is used mainly in life sciences and financial markets. Companies like Novartis and the National Institutes of Health use it.
NoSQL
In 2010 and 2011, Stonebraker shared his thoughts on the NoSQL movement.
Notable Students
Michael Stonebraker has taught and mentored more than 30 students. Many of them have become important figures in computer science. Some of his notable students include:
- Daniel Abadi, who co-founded Hadapt.
- Michael J. Carey, a professor at UC Irvine.
- Paula Hawthorn, who co-founded Britton Lee.
- Marti Hearst, a professor at UC Berkeley.
- Joseph M. Hellerstein, a professor at UC Berkeley.
- Clifford A. Lynch, executive director of the Coalition for Networked Information.
- Margo Seltzer, a professor and founder of Sleepycat Software.
- Dale Skeen, founder and CEO of Vitria.
- Sunita Sarawagi, a professor at IIT Bombay.
See also
In Spanish: Michael Stonebraker para niños
