GOVERNMENT

The high-performance computing community is mourning the loss of Kaivalya Dixit, long-time president of the Standard Performance Evaluation Corp. (SPEC). Dixit died at age 62 on November 22. Considered "Mr. SPEC" by peers and colleagues, Dixit headed the non-profit group since 1990. Along with others, Dixit codified the SPEC methodology for creating objective, repeatable benchmarks that reflect supercomputing use in the real world. Under his leadership, SPEC produced more than two-dozen products used worldwide to evaluate performance for CPU, graphics and applications, high-performance computing, Java client/servers, mail servers, network file systems, and web servers. Most recently, he chaired the Java client/server subcommittee responsible for the SPECjAppServer2004 benchmark. Dixit was known for his non-partisanship, devotion to SPEC ideals, and unfailing humor. "Those of us who knew him a long time talk of his kindness, leadership, dedication and fair spirit," says Walter Bays, a member of the SPEC Board of Directors and long-time friend. "Those who knew him a short time tell of a man who, when they were virtual strangers, went far out of his way to be a friend and mentor." Dixit worked in the computer industry for more than 30 years, most recently at IBM in Austin, Texas. He also held engineering, marketing and management positions with Sun Microsystems and Ford Aerospace. Dixit is survived by his wife Evelyn of Austin, and son Raj of Bakersfield, Calif. Memorial contributions can be made in memory of Kaivalya Dixit to the American Heart Association or the American Diabetes Association. Background: SPEC (www.spec.org) is a non-profit organization that establishes, maintains and endorses standardized benchmarks to measure the performance of the newest generation of high-performance computers. Its membership comprises leading computer hardware and software vendors, universities, and research organizations worldwide.