engineering

Jeffrey P. Buzen

Jeffrey P. Buzen is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Jeffrey P. Buzen rather than just read about it. In short: Jeffrey Peter Buzen (born May 28, 1943) is an American computer scientist in system performance analysis best known for his contributions to queueing theory. His PhD dissertation and his 1973 paper Computational algorithms for closed queueing networks with exponential servers have guided the study of queueing network modeling for decades.

Key takeaways

Jeffrey P. Buzen belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Jeffrey P. Buzen to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Jeffrey P. Buzen from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Jeffrey Peter Buzen (born May 28, 1943) is an American computer scientist in system performance analysis best known for his contributions to queueing theory. His PhD dissertation and his 1973 paper Computational algorithms for closed queueing networks with exponential servers have guided the study of queueing network modeling for decades. Born in Brooklyn, Buzen holds three degrees in Applied Mathematics -- an ScB (1965) from Brown University and, from Harvard University, an MS (1966) and a PhD (1971). He was a systems programmer at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland (1967–69), where his technique for optimizing the performance of a realtime biomedical computer system led to his first publication at a 1969 IEEE conference. After completing his PhD, he held concurrent appointments as a lecturer in computer science at Harvard and as a systems engineer at Honeywell (1971-76). Some of his students at Harvard have gone on to become well-known figures in computing. Buzen was PhD thesis advisor for Robert M. Metcalfe (1973), Turing Award winner and co-inventor of Ethernet, and for John M. McQuillan (1974), developer the original adaptive routing algorithms used in ARPAnet and Internet. Buzen also co-taught a two-semester graduate-level course on operating systems (AM 251a/AM251br) that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates took during his freshman year (1973-74). Gates wrote "It was the only 'computer course' I officially took at Harvard." In addition to being an educator and a researcher, Buzen is also an entrepreneur. Along with fellow Harvard applied mathematics PhDs Robert Goldberg and Harold Schwenk, he co-founded BGS Systems in 1975. The company, which began operations in his basement, developed, marketed and supported software products for the performance management and capacity planning of enterprise computer systems. Their flagship modeling product, BEST/1, was based on proprietary extensions to the queuing network models and computational algorithms that Buzen developed in his PhD thesis. BGS Systems was listed on NASDAQ (BGSS) from 1983 to 1998. Buzen served as chief scientist and senior vice president until the company was acquired by BMC Software in 1998. In addition to the development of specific models and algorithms, Buzen's research has also dealt extensively with the question of why some stochastic models work surprisingly well in practice, even though the theoretical assumptions upon which these models are based seem unlikely to be satisfied by real world systems. This has led the development of an alternative approach to stochastic modeling that makes it possible to derive certain classical results using simpler assumptions that are more likely to be satisfied in practice. His initial 1976 paper on this topic Fundamental Laws of Computer System Performance received the inaugural ACM Sigmetrics “Test of Time Award” in 2010, reflecting 34 years of enduring influence. His 2016 book Rethinking Randomness extends this work further and presents a generalized modeling framework he refers to as observational stochastics. Buzen has held leadership positions in various professional societies, including Association for Computing Machinery Sigmetrics, the International Federation for Information Processing Working Group 7.3, and the Computer Measurement Group (serving as president during 2000–2001). In 1979, he received Computer Measurement Group's A.A. Michelson award for technical excellence and professional contributions as a teacher and inspirer of others. He also received the ACM SIGMETRICS Achievement Award in 2010. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2003 for contributions to the theory and commercial application of computer system performance models.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Jeffrey P. Buzen

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Jeffrey P. Buzen claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Jeffrey P. Buzen before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Jeffrey P. Buzen ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Jeffrey P. Buzen

In research: Jeffrey P. Buzen appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Jeffrey P. Buzen in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Jeffrey P. Buzen is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1943 births, American computer scientists, American systems engineers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Jeffrey P. Buzen outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Jeffrey P. Buzen in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Jeffrey P. Buzen means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Jeffrey P. Buzen out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Jeffrey P. Buzen in simple terms?

Why does Jeffrey P. Buzen matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Jeffrey P. Buzen?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Jeffrey P. Buzen.