UNL computer scientist Revesz earns State Department/USAID fellowship

Peter Revesz, a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has been selected to the highly competitive U.S. Department of State/U.S. Agency for International Development Jefferson Science Fellow program. Beginning in September Revesz will work for one year in a consulting assignment by the Department of State/USAID in Washington, D.C., or in a foreign embassy or mission.

Tenured academic scientists and engineers from U.S. institutions of higher learning are eligible for selection as Jefferson Science Fellows, and each spends one year providing up-to-date expertise in the rapidly advancing science and technology arenas that routinely affect the policy decisions encountered by the U.S. Department of State/USAID. Following the fellowship year, the Jefferson Science Fellow returns to his or her academic career, but remains available to the U.S. Department of State/USAID for short-term projects over the following five years.

Revesz holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Brown University and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto before coming to UNL. His research interests are bioinformatics, geoinformatics and various types of databases ranging from constraint databases, such as the MLPQ system; protein databases, such as the PROFESS system, spatial databases and temporal databases.

He is the author of the books "Introduction to Constraint Databases" (Springer 2002), and "Introduction to Databases: From Biological to Spatio-Temporal" (Springer 2010). He held visiting appointments at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, the national research center for computer science in France, the University of Hasselt in Belgium, the Max Planck Institute for Computer Science in Germany, and the University of Athens in Greece. He is the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship, and a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award.

Jefferson Science Fellows are paid a per diem of up to $50,000 by the U.S. Department of State to cover local living expenses for the full year, and a travel budget of $10,000 is provided through the National Academies, with supplemental travel funds provided by the fellow's bureau or office. The appointments are subject to obtaining appropriate security clearance. Only five to 10 fellows are appointed in a typical year.

Revesz said he does not know where his international appointment is but is anticipating a research appointment using his expertise in databases and data-mining. He plans to take his wife and three children on his appointment.

WRITER: Kelly Bartling, University Communications, (402) 472-2059