Evi Nemeth
Encyclopedia
Evi Nemeth is an internationally recognized engineer, author, and teacher known for her expertise in computer system administration and networks. She is the lead author of the “bibles” of system administration: UNIX System Administration Handbook (1989, 1995, 2000) Linux Administration Handbook (2002, 2006), and UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook (2010).
Nemeth is best known in mathematical circles for originally identifying inadequacies in the “Diffie-Hellman trap,” the basis for a large portion of modern network cryptography
. (R. Mullin, E. Nemeth and N. Weidenhofer, "Will Public Key Cryptosystems Live up to Their Expectations? HEP Implementation of the Discrete Log Codebreaker" in Proceedings of the International Parallel Processing Conference, pp. 193–196, 1984.) Evi has an Erdos number
of 2.
Nemeth received her bachelor's degree in mathematics from Penn State in 1961 and her PhD in mathematics from the University of Waterloo, Ontario
in 1971. She taught at Florida Atlantic University and the State University of New York at Utica (SUNY Tech) before joining the computer science department at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU Boulder) in 1980. She served as manager of the college’s computing facility from 1982 to 1986. She also was a visiting Associate Professor at Dartmouth College in 1990, and at UC San Diego in 1998, while on sabbatical from CU Boulder.
While at CU Boulder, Nemeth was well-known for her undergraduate systems administration activity, in which students over the years had the opportunity to develop in-depth knowledge and skills in Unix
system administration. Together with Steve Wozniak
, Nemeth established the Woz scholarship program at CU Boulder which funded inquisitive undergraduates for many years. Nemeth also has a special talent for inspiring and teaching young people. She mentored numerous middle- and high-school students, who worked with her to support computing in the college and came to be known as "the munchkins." She also mentored talented young undergraduates, taking them to national meetings where they installed networks and broadcast the meetings’ sessions on the Internet on the multicast backbone. She coached the university's student programming teams in the ACM's annual International Collegiate Programming Contest.
From 1998 to 2006, Nemeth worked with CAIDA (Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis
) at the University of California, San Diego, on various Internet measurement and visualization projects.
Outside the United States, Nemeth has helped bring Internet technology to the developing world through her involvement with programs of the Internet Society and the United Nations Development Programme.
Since her retirement, Nemeth has been sailing her 40-foot sailboat named Wonderland around various parts of the world, including a circuit of the Atlantic, Panama Canal, and across the Pacific to New Zealand.
Several Internet measurement papers; see www.caide.org/publications/papers.
Mullin, R., Nemeth, E. and Weidenhofer, N., "Will Public Key Crypto Systems Live up to Their Expectations? HEP Implementation of the Discrete Log Codebreaker," Proc. of the 1984 Intl Conf on Parallel Processing, Aug. 21-24, 1984, pp. 193–196. Selected for the best paper award for this conference.
Several papers on combinatories in ancient paper journals.
“Early [ethernet] developers... objected to a roundoff error that exceeded the ARPANET's entire bandwidth, but marketing won out.”
“Many people equate the word ‘daemon’ with the word ‘demon,’ implying some kind of Satanic connection between Unix and the underworld. This is an egregious misunderstanding. ‘Daemon’ is actually a much older form of ‘demon’; daemons have no particular bias towards good or evil, but rather serve to help define a person's character or personality. The ancient Greeks' concept of a ‘personal daemon’ was similar to the modern concept of a ‘guardian angel’ – ‘eudaemonia’ is the state of being helped or protected by a kindly spirit. As a rule, Unix systems seem to be infested with both daemons and demons.” (p403, USAH)
Nemeth is best known in mathematical circles for originally identifying inadequacies in the “Diffie-Hellman trap,” the basis for a large portion of modern network cryptography
Cryptography
Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
. (R. Mullin, E. Nemeth and N. Weidenhofer, "Will Public Key Cryptosystems Live up to Their Expectations? HEP Implementation of the Discrete Log Codebreaker" in Proceedings of the International Parallel Processing Conference, pp. 193–196, 1984.) Evi has an Erdos number
Erdos number
The Erdős number describes the "collaborative distance" between a person and mathematician Paul Erdős, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers.The same principle has been proposed for other eminent persons in other fields.- Overview :...
of 2.
Nemeth received her bachelor's degree in mathematics from Penn State in 1961 and her PhD in mathematics from the University of Waterloo, Ontario
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
in 1971. She taught at Florida Atlantic University and the State University of New York at Utica (SUNY Tech) before joining the computer science department at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU Boulder) in 1980. She served as manager of the college’s computing facility from 1982 to 1986. She also was a visiting Associate Professor at Dartmouth College in 1990, and at UC San Diego in 1998, while on sabbatical from CU Boulder.
While at CU Boulder, Nemeth was well-known for her undergraduate systems administration activity, in which students over the years had the opportunity to develop in-depth knowledge and skills in Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
system administration. Together with Steve Wozniak
Steve Wozniak
Stephen Gary "Woz" Wozniak is an American computer engineer and programmer who founded Apple Computer, Co. with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne...
, Nemeth established the Woz scholarship program at CU Boulder which funded inquisitive undergraduates for many years. Nemeth also has a special talent for inspiring and teaching young people. She mentored numerous middle- and high-school students, who worked with her to support computing in the college and came to be known as "the munchkins." She also mentored talented young undergraduates, taking them to national meetings where they installed networks and broadcast the meetings’ sessions on the Internet on the multicast backbone. She coached the university's student programming teams in the ACM's annual International Collegiate Programming Contest.
From 1998 to 2006, Nemeth worked with CAIDA (Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis
Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis
The Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis is a collaborative undertaking among organizations in the commercial, government, and research sectors aimed at promoting greater cooperation in the engineering and maintenance of a robust, scalable global Internet infrastructure. CAIDA...
) at the University of California, San Diego, on various Internet measurement and visualization projects.
Outside the United States, Nemeth has helped bring Internet technology to the developing world through her involvement with programs of the Internet Society and the United Nations Development Programme.
Since her retirement, Nemeth has been sailing her 40-foot sailboat named Wonderland around various parts of the world, including a circuit of the Atlantic, Panama Canal, and across the Pacific to New Zealand.
Selected Publications
Nemeth, E., Hein, T., Snyder, G., and Whaley, B., Unix and Linux System Administration Handbook, Prentice Hall, 2010.Several Internet measurement papers; see www.caide.org/publications/papers.
Mullin, R., Nemeth, E. and Weidenhofer, N., "Will Public Key Crypto Systems Live up to Their Expectations? HEP Implementation of the Discrete Log Codebreaker," Proc. of the 1984 Intl Conf on Parallel Processing, Aug. 21-24, 1984, pp. 193–196. Selected for the best paper award for this conference.
Several papers on combinatories in ancient paper journals.
Awards
- 1984—Best Paper Award, International Parallel Processing Conference, Chicago, August, 1984
- 1993—USENIX/LISA Lifetime Achievement Award
- 1999—Top 25 Women on the Web Award
- 2007 – Distinguish Engineering Honoree at CU-Boulder
- 5th Annual Telluride Tech Fest Honoree
Quotes
“I think MIME is evil.” (LISA)“Early [ethernet] developers... objected to a roundoff error that exceeded the ARPANET's entire bandwidth, but marketing won out.”
“Many people equate the word ‘daemon’ with the word ‘demon,’ implying some kind of Satanic connection between Unix and the underworld. This is an egregious misunderstanding. ‘Daemon’ is actually a much older form of ‘demon’; daemons have no particular bias towards good or evil, but rather serve to help define a person's character or personality. The ancient Greeks' concept of a ‘personal daemon’ was similar to the modern concept of a ‘guardian angel’ – ‘eudaemonia’ is the state of being helped or protected by a kindly spirit. As a rule, Unix systems seem to be infested with both daemons and demons.” (p403, USAH)