Steven R. Hetzler

Initiator and namer of iSCSI within IBM Research, Hetzler is recognized for his role in developing an Internet Protocol (IP)-based storage networking standard for linking data storage facilities. He initiated work on what became Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) data storage systems and markets and applications for nonvolatile memories. iSCSI is a protocol for managing storage over IP networks that he initiated within IBM Research. In 2010, Hetzler was named an IBM Fellow at IBM's Almaden Research Center, San Jose, California, where he managed the Storage Architecture Research group.

His group wrote the first draft specification, developed the first working iSCSI demonstrations, including the first direct network-attached DVD movie multiplex, and was active in helping develop iSCSI into an industry standard. A prolific inventor, Hetzler has been issued 35 patents for inventions in a wide range of topics—including data storage systems and architecture, optics, error correction coding, and power management. His most notable patents include split-data field recording (issued in 1993) and the No-ID(TM) headerless sector format (issued in 1995), which were used by nearly all magnetic hard-disk-drive manufacturers for a number of years. He also pioneered the first adaptive power technology for disk drives, which was also widely used in disk drives for mobile computers.

In addition to being named IBM Fellow—the highest honor a scientist, engineer, or programmer at IBM can achieve—Hetzler received numerous IBM awards for his work, including three Corporate Awards and a Corporate Environmental Affairs Excellence Award. He has been a member of the American Physical Society, a senior member of the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers, and a member of the IBM Academy of Technology. He received his B.A. degree in Physics from Carleton College in the Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota area and his Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Caltech, in the greater Los Angeles area, in 1985. Hetzler subsequently focused on novel architectures for storage systems.