Media Contact
Kelly Kimberland
Phone: 412-268-4793
Fax: 412-268-5758
E-mail: public-relations@sei.cmu.edu

PITTSBURGH, PA, June 12, 2003—Stephen E. Cross, director and chief executive officer of  the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute (SEI), has announced  that he will be leaving the SEI to become a vice president at Georgia Institute  of Technology and director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute, effective  September 1, 2003.

Carnegie Mellon Provost Mark Kamlet stated that Cross has exemplified and personified  excellence in leadership during his tenure at the SEI. “Steve’s  passion for the advancement of better software engineering practices has positioned  the SEI, and thus Carnegie Mellon, as a leader in software engineering and Internet  security,” Kamlet said. “We will miss his leadership, his vision,  and his energy.”

Cross has been the director of the SEI since 1996. He joined the university  in 1994, acting as a member of the research faculty and as the director of the  Information Technology Center, a department in the School of Computer Science.

Cross explained that leaving his director’s position at the SEI was a  difficult decision to make. “The SEI operates at the leading edge of technical  innovation, and I have been honored to lead this organization for the past seven  years,” Cross said. “The SEI is a great place to work, and its technical  staff has had truly remarkable impact in the world. I have been personally inspired  by all of the accomplishments of everyone within this organization.”

Under Cross’ leadership, the SEI has continued to provide leadership  in the field of software engineering. Key accomplishments during the past year  include

• establishing proactive support programs for each military service (Air Force,   Army, and Navy)
• releasing the Capability Maturity Model Integration Product Suite (models,   appraisal methods, and training) to support improvement programs for organizations   that develop and maintain software-intensive products and services
• partnering with other departments of Carnegie Mellon University to provide   educational resources to historically black colleges and universities and   Hispanic-serving institutions.
• stimulating the creation and growth of worldwide software engineering communities   and generating worldwide interest in best software-engineering practices by   means of conferences that the SEI sponsors, such as the Software Engineering   Process Group Conference, held in Boston in March 2003
• opening SEI-Europe, a branch office in Frankfurt, Germany, to help disseminate   best software-engineering practices in Europe and provide the training, knowledge,   and research to support the development of quality software

In the area of Internet security, Cross oversaw the CERT Coordination Center,  the nation’s first and best-known computer security incident response  team, which grew in stature and influence during his tenure. He also oversaw  the creation of the CERT Analysis Center (CERT/AC) to assess and predict Internet  threats. The CERT/AC collaborated with the United States Secret Service on the  analysis of critical systems for both Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans, LA, and  the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, UT. During his tenure at the SEI, Cross  also served as deputy director of the Internet Security Alliance, an industry-led  group devoted to the creation of best practices, sharing of information, and  examination of policy issues.

Cross is a member of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Scientific Advisory Board and  is past chairman of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Information  Science and Technology (ISAT) panel. Previously, he served as deputy director  of the Software and Intelligent Systems Technology Office at DARPA. He is a  past editor in chief of IEEE Intelligent Systems, and has published  more than 60 papers in the areas of software engineering, information technology  research, and technology transition.

Cross earned his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, his M.S. in electrical  engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and his B.S. in electrical  engineering from the University of Cincinnati. He is a graduate of the USAF  Test Pilot School (Flight Test Engineer Course), the USAF Air War College, and  the National Defense University. He retired from the USAF in 1994.

Among numerous awards and honors, Cross is a fellow of the Institute for Electrical  and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) (2002), was named a Distinguished Alumnus  of the University of Cincinnati’s College of Engineering (2002), received  the Defense Superior Service Medal for overseeing logistics systems  developed and fielded during Operation Desert Storm (1991), won the USAF  Research and Development Award for innovative applications of machine intelligence  (1987), and was selected Dayton Ohio Engineer of the Year (1986).

About the SEI

The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) is a federally funded research and  development center sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense and operated  by Carnegie Mellon University.