I am pleased to announce that Prof. Leonard Shapiro (Len) has joined The Else Institute as the Principal Researcher in Information Management. This addition increases the institute's research depth, enhances its influence, and makes available a great resource to the institute's researchers and to its beneficiaries.
I have known Len for over 10 years now: We were both affiliated with the Data Intensive Systems Center and Portland State University. We have discussed many database research topics at Database Reading Group meetings: first at the Oregon Graduate Institute; then at Portland State University.
Len is an accomplished researcher, an excellent teacher, and a successful industry consultant. He invented the Hybrid Hash Join algorithm used in modern relational database management systems. And, two of his publications are among the most-cited articles in database research.
On behalf of the staff, volunteers, donors, and friends of the institute, I extend a warm welcome to Len. I look forward to working with him on exciting research projects and also to reading his posts on the institute's blog.