WOJCIECH SZPANKOWSKI, PhD, is Professor of Computer Science at Purdue University and has held visiting research positions at the Technical University of Gdansk, McGill University, INRIA, the Technical University of Vienna, University of Witwatersrand, Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, and Stanford University. He is the author of over 100 scientific publications in the areas of analysis of algorithms, information theory, performance evaluation of computer networks, stability of distributed systems, and queueing theory.