University Park

IBM inventor to discuss future of data networks on Oct. 23

Casimer DeCustatis, a 1986 University Scholar and College of Engineering graduate, will discuss "From Wall Street to Watson: The Next Generation of Data Networks" as he delivers the Schreyer Honors College's 18th annual Mark Luchinsky Memorial Lecture at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 23, in the HUB Auditorium on Penn State's University Park campus.

The evening’s format will be a discussion moderated by Christian M. M. Brady, dean of the Schreyer Honors College, with questions fielded from the audience. The lecture is free and open to the public.

DeCusatis currently is the chief technology officer for strategic alliances with IBM Systems Networking. His work includes designing data recovery systems used by Fortune 1000 Companies worldwide in the event of emergencies and disasters. Those systems include ones deployed successfully in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, Hurricane Katrina, tsunamis in southeast Asia, the 2011 nuclear meltdown in Japan. He also was involved in creating the network powering Watson, the IBM supercomputer that in 2011 won the "Jeopardy!" game show against two of the television show's champions.

He has earned the designation as an IBM Master Inventor and holds more than 120 patents, a number of which are ranked in the top 5 percent of contributions to IBM. He has been recognized professionally with the IEEE Kiyo Tomiyasu Award, the Sigma Xi Walston Chubb Award for Innovation, the EDN Innovator of the Year Award, and the Mensa Research Foundation Copper Black Award for Creative Achievement.

DeCusatis is the founder and director of Hudson Valley FIRST Lego League, which helps more than 1,000 students each year pursue their interests in science and technology. In 2012, he was named the Schreyer Honors College’s Outstanding Scholar Alumnus for his professional accomplishments and community engagement.

DeCusatis graduated from Penn State with honors with a degree in engineering science. He earned his master of science and doctoral degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

For more information about this year’s Luchinsky lecture, visit shc.psu.edu/events/luchinsky.

Last Updated January 9, 2015