computer science

Kristofer Pister

Kristofer Pister is a computer science 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 Kristofer Pister rather than just read about it. In short: Kristofer S. J.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Kristofer S. J. Pister ("Kris Pister") is a professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at University of California, Berkeley and the founder and CTO of Dust Networks. He is known for his academic work on Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), their simulation (the SUGAR MEMS simulator), his work on Smartdust, and his membership in the JASON Defense Advisory Group. He is the son of former Berkeley Dean of Engineering and former UC Chancellor Karl Pister.

Professional work Kristofer Pister is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1997. Prior to that he was a professor at the University of California Los Angeles. He is generally attributed as the inventor and key implementer of smartdust, and is the founder and current CTO of Dust Networks, a company commercializing the smart dust concept. Dust Networks was then bought by Linear but still kept its original name (Dust Networks). Pister initially focused on microelectromechanical systems and has since shifted his lab focus toward integrated circuits. Many of his innovations have been at the intersection of the two. Kris successfully commercialized or licensed micromachine technologies with Tanner Research, OMM Inc., Xactix, and Sony. He is also the originator of the fold up silicon quick reference macro-crystal.

Education He holds a PhD and MS in electrical engineering and computer sciences from UC Berkeley and a BS from UC San Diego.

References

External links Pister at the UC Berkeley electrical engineering/computer science department website Pister at UC Berkeley faculty website UC Berkeley publications search website

Illustrations

Kristofer Pister: Kristofer Pister — Kristofer Pister

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kristofer Pister

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kristofer Pister claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, 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 Kristofer Pister 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 Kristofer Pister 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 Kristofer Pister

In research: Kristofer Pister appears in computer science 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 Kristofer Pister 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: Kristofer Pister is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American businesspeople in the computer industry, American chief technology officers, Computer scientist stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kristofer Pister 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 Kristofer Pister in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kristofer Pister 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 Kristofer Pister out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kristofer Pister in simple terms?

Kristofer S. J.

Why does Kristofer Pister matter?

Because it connects several computer science 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 Kristofer Pister?

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 Kristofer Pister.