Center for Research in Intelligent Storage

Search for large-scale file systems needs to be fast, scalable, and security aware. By partitioning search indexes along security lines, we enable immediate elimination of parts of the file system a user cannot see. This significantly speeds up search, while preventing statistical attacks which might reveal information about hidden documents. Our research indicates that for most users and groups, only a small fraction of the file system is available, making the effective cost of search under our scheme equivalent to that of a much smaller file system.

The Center for Research in Intelligent Storage (CRIS) is a partnership between universities and industry, featuring high-quality, industrially relevant fundamental research, strong industrial support of collaboration in research and education, and direct transfer of university developed ideas, research results, and technology to U.S. industry to improve its competitive posture in world markets. Through innovative education of talented graduate and undergraduate students, CRIS is providing the next generation of scientists and engineers with a broad, industrially oriented perspective on engineering research and practice.

Center Mission and Rationale

The goal of the Center for Research in Intelligent Storage (CRIS) is to push the boundaries of file and storage systems by exploring and developing new technologies and techniques to improve the usability, scalability, security, reliability, and performance of storage systems.

The Center is established in the University of California, Santa Cruz and the University of Minnesota, universities with strong ties to the storage system industry: Silicon Valley and Minneapolis have long been centers of the storage industry in the United States. Research projects in the Center are supported by industrial members, and the Center encourages frequent participation by industry employees in the projects: participation in weekly meetings via phone call, email discussions, and face-to-face meetings. The Center encourages students to engage member companies via summer internships, facilitating technology transfer and building strong ties that can result in full-time employment after graduation.

Support

The Center is primarily supported by its industrial membership and by funding from the National Science Foundation. The Center is part of the Industry & University Cooperative Research Program (I/UCRC) at NSF.

Companies interested in becoming members of CRIS should review the CRIS fact sheet, which contains links to the membership agreement and current bylaws.

Contact Information

Center for Research in Intelligent Storage
University of Minnesota
Digital Technology Center
499 Walter Library
117 Pleasant Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-624-9510
URL: http://www.cris.us/
Email: directors «at» cris.us

Center Directors

Ethan L. Miller (University of California, Santa Cruz)
Tel: +1 831 459-1222
Email: elm «at» cs.ucsc.edu

David Du (University of Minnesota)
Tel: +1 612 625-2560
Email: du «at» cs.umn.edu

Other Contacts

Cory Devor
UMN DTC Business & Research Development
+1 612 625-1716
Email: devor «at» dtc.umn.edu

Andy Hospodor
UCSC SSRC Executive Director
Email: hospodor «at» soe.ucsc.edu