UNH senior awarded prestigious Caltech computer science fellowship

Peer-to-peer network research made Londonderry native stand out

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DURHAM—A University of New Hampshire senior has been awarded a prestigious fellowship by the California Institute of Technology, where he will continue his studies in computer science as a PhD candidate.

David Noblet is the recipient of Caltech’s Gordon Moore Fellowship, offered to applicants of exceptional ability once every few years. He will receive full tuition and a stipend for four years, and is eligible for continued support thereafter. The fellowship is endowed by a gift from Betty and Gordon Moore, the famous postulator of Moore’s Law, which first predicted in 1965 the doubling of computer processing power every two years.

Noblet, the son of Brad and Susan Noblet of Londonderry, said that what helped him win the fellowship were graduate level courses he was able to take at UNH and his participation in the International Research Opportunities Program last summer.

Through IROP, Noblet conducted research at the IRISA lab in Rennes, France. “It’s a big deal because there aren’t too many undergraduates that have that kind of research experience,” said Noblet. “It really gave me a step up.”

Working with his UNH mentor, Computer Science Chair Phil Hatcher, and IRISA researchers Gabriel Antoniu and Mathieu Jan, Noblet conducted a performance study of the communication layer of the Java instantiation of JXTA, an open-source framework created by Sun Microsystems for building peer-to-peer applications. The research will be presented at the Fifth International Workshop on Global and Peer-to-Peer Computing, held May 9-12 in Cardiff, Wales.

While peer-to-peer file sharing networks like KaZaA, Gnutella and Napster have grabbed headlines, “p2p” networks have broader applications that interest computer scientists. “The question I was trying to answer was, ‘Is this particular application framework the best way to build p2p applications, and what kinds of applications would it be useful for?’” explained Noblet.

With the sponsorship of UNH Assistant Professor of computer science Michel Charpentier, Noblet was able to take an advanced level graduate course that also gave him a leg up. He did so well that Charpentier selected him to be a grader for a related course. Charpentier later suggested to Noblet that he consider continuing his studies at Caltech, where Charpentier did his postdoctoral research.

An honors student, Noblet has been received numerous scholarships and awards in his time at UNH and is the top-ranked senior in computer science this year. “David is the best undergraduate student that I have seen in my nineteen years at UNH,” said Hatcher. “He is 'off the charts' in all dimensions: his software engineering skills and experience, his aptitude for theoretical computer science topics, his motivation and drive, his maturity and focus, and his written and oral communication skills are all absolutely top-notch.”

Now that Noblet will be conducting research with some of the brightest minds in computer science, Hatcher expects great things are in store for his star pupil. “I believe David’s potential is unlimited,” he said. “It is clear that David is well-primed to make an immediate impact, both as a student and as a researcher.”

PHOTO CAPTION

RISING STAR PUPIL: UNH Senior David Noblet, of Londonderry, has been awarded Caltech's prestigious Gordon Moore Fellowship for doctoral studies in computer science.

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