People
Ken Christensen
Professor and Associate Chair of Undergraduate Affairs
ENB 319 | 813-974-4761 | christen@cse.usf.edu
Biography
Dr. Ken Christensen is a professor and Associate Chair of Undergraduate Affairs in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa, FL. His research interests are at the intersection of networks and energy in the area of energy-efficient computing and communications systems, and the application of communications to improving the storage, distribution, and use of energy in small grids. In the past fifteen years, Dr. Christensen has made significant contributions toward proxying for network connectivity and Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE). This research has contributed to Ecma and IEEE standards and to EPA Energy Star specifications. This research has been funded by NSF, KETI, Cisco, and Google. He has graduated 22 MS students and seven PhD students. Six of the PhD graduates have gone on to tenure-track faculty positions in U.S. and Latin American universities. Dr. Christensen received his PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from North Carolina State University in 1991, MS from North Carolina State University in 1983, and BS from the University of Florida in 1981. From 1983 to 1995, he was employed at IBM Research Triangle. Since 1995, he has been a faculty member at USF. Dr. Christensen is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Florida, a member of ACM and ASEE, and a Senior Member of IEEE.
Research Interests:
Research is at the intersection of energy and networks; energy efficient networks and networks for efficient local power distribution and use
Teaching Interests
Computer Networks (CNT 4004) and Senior Capstone Design (CIS 4910)
Education
PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering, North Carolina State University (1991)
MS in Electrical Engineering, North Carolina State University (1983)
BS in Electrical Engineering, University of Florida (1981)
Honors and Awards
USF Excellence in Innovation Award (2009)
USF Charter Member of Academy of Inventors (2009)
IT Florida Award for Excellence in Sustainability through Information Technology (2008)
USF "spotlight program" recognition as part of the ten year anniversary of the USF
Collaborative for Children, Families, and Community (with D. Rundus) (2006)
Second place in Microsoft Windows Embedded Student Challenge (advisor for a team of
students) (2006)
USF Outstanding Dissertation Prize (chair for H. Fujinoki), (2001)
USF Outstanding Master's Thesis Prize (chair for A. Solleti) (2001)
NSF CAREER Award (1999)
ASEE/NASA Summer Faculty Fellowship at NASA-KSC (1998 and 1999)
USF Teaching Incentive Program Award (1998)
USF Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award (1997)
Key Activities
Local Arrangement Chair for IEEE Local Computer Networks conference (2000, 2001, 2002,
2004, 2012, 2015)
Founding member and President of The Pledge of the Computing Professional
Guest Editor for special issue on Green Communications for Computer Networks (with
P. Serrano, X. Costa-Pérez, and J. Wu), Vol. 78, February 2015
Advisory Board member for International Journal of Network Management (Wiley)