The Responsibilities of the IRTF Chair ....
From RFC2014:The IRTF is managed by the IRTF Chair in consultation with the Internet Research Steering Group (IRSG). The IRTF Chair is appointed by the IAB.
The IRTF Chair is responsible for ensuring that Research Groups produce coherent, coordinated, architecturally consistent and timely output as a contribution to the overall evolution of the Internet architecture. In addition to the detailed tasks related to Research Groups outlined below, the IRTF Chair may also from time to time arrange for topical workshops attended by the IRSG and perhaps other experts in the field.
- Planning
- The IRTF Chair monitors the range of activities. This may include encouraging the formation of Research Groups directly, rather than waiting for proposals from IRTF participants.
- Coordination of Research Groups
- The IRTF Chair coordinates the work done by the various Research Groups.
- Reporting
- The IRTF Chair reports on IRTF progress to the to the IAB and the wider Internet community (including via the IMR).
- Progress tracking
- The IRTF Chair tracks and manages the progress of the various Research Groups with the aid of a regular status report on documents and accomplishments from the Research Group Chairs. The resulting reports are made available to the community at large at regular intervals.
Anyone interested in creating an IRTF Research Group must submit a charter for the proposed group to the IRTF Chair along with a list of proposed founding members. The formation of a Research Group requires a charter which is initially negotiated between a prospective Research Group Chair and the IRTF Chair. When the prospective Chair and the IRTF Chair are satisfied with the charter form and content, it becomes the basis for forming a Research Group.
About the current IRTF chair...
Aaron Falk works at BBN Technologies. His interests include network architecture, congestion control, and satellite networking. Aaron has been involved in the IETF since 1996, chairing the TCPSAT, PILC, and DCCP working groups and the RFC Editor. Currently, he is the Engineering Architect (interim) and Lead System Engineer on the GENI project, a national-scale experimental facility for development of new network architectures. Prior to his work at BBN, Aaron worked at USC Information Sciences Institute where he led development of a key subsystem of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) MREFC project, Embedded Cyberinfrastructure (ECI), involving software development for real-time system, system integration, and field testing. He also lead the implementation of XCP, a new congestion control protocol, and analyzed performance and functional issues when Internet protocols traverse packet-switching satellites. Aaron's background is in satellite system design and he developed satellite network architectures at TRW, Hughes, and PanAmSat. While a graduate student at the University of Maryland, Aaron designed and implemented a system to provide broadband Internet access with a receive-only satellite dish.
Past IRTF Chairs
- Dave Clark, 1989-1992
- Jon Postel, 1992-1995
- Abel Weinrib, 1995-1999
- Erik Huizer, 1999-2001
- Vern Paxson, 2001-2005
Internet Research Steering Group
The IRTF is managed by the IRTF Chair in consultation with the Internet Research Steering Group (IRSG). The IRSG membership includes the IRTF Chair, the chairs of the various Research Group and possibly other individuals ("members at large") from the research community.
IRSG members at large are chosen by the IRTF Chair in consultation with the rest of the IRSG and on approval by the IAB.
In addition to managing the Research Groups, the IRSG may from time to time hold topical workshops focusing on research areas of importance to the evolution of the Internet, or more general workshops to, for example, discuss research priorities from an Internet perspective.
The IRSG also reviews and approves documents published as part of the IRTF Document Stream.
Current IRSG membership includes:
- Lachlan Andrew, TMRG
- Bill Arbaugh, MOBOPTS RG
- Bob Braden
- John Buford, SAM RG
- Ran Canetti, CFRG
- Leslie Daigle
- Wes Eddy, ICCRG
- Aaron Falk, IRTF Chair
- Kevin Fall, DTN RG
- Stephen Farrell, DTN RG
- Andrei Gurtov, HIP RG
- Tom Henderson, HIP RG
- Volker Hilt, P2P RG
- Rajeev Koodli, MOBOPTS RG
- Olaf Kolkman, IAB Chair
- John Levine, ASRG
- Tony Li, RRG
- Dave McGrew, CFRG
- Danny McPherson
- Jeremy Mineweaser, SAM RG
- Craig Partridge, E2E RG
- Stefano Previdi, P2P RG
- Juergen Schoenwaelder, NMRG
- Karen Sollins, E2E RG
- Michael Welzl, ICCRG
- John Wroclawski
- Lixia Zhang, RRG