Daniel Smith
Daniel Smith
Advanced File Architecture
Almaden Research Center
IBM Research
Daniel F. Smith joined IBM Research in 1997 after visiting several magnetic recording research labs and concluding that IBM's promised the most real research. He holds an M.A. in physics from the University of Cambridge (U.K., 1993) and a Ph.D. from the University of Plymouth (U.K.), where he explored Bayesian interpretation of undisciplined magnetic recording channels. Smith is happiest when holding a soldering iron in one hand and a keyboard in the other, persevering to get little lights to blink.
At IBM Smith has been part of the advanced file architecture team, a group dedicated to prototyping future storage possibilities. Notable contributions have been the iSCSI protocol, team lead for the first network DVD player, and a continuing adventure in raising radically different RAID arrangements. He is currently prototyping storage designs that don't require you to kick them in anger, and wouldn't fail even if you did (accidentally, perhaps several times, with very heavy boots).
