Biographical sketch of author

Ravi Nair   IBM Research Division, Thomas J. Watson Research Center, P.O. Box 218, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598 (nair@us.ibm.com). Dr. Nair graduated from the University of Illinois with a Ph.D. degree in computer science in 1978; he has worked at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center since then. He spent a sabbatical year at Princeton University in 1987–1988 and has also taught at Columbia University. Dr. Nair has worked in the areas of computer architecture, design automation, and testing, and has several publications, patents, and IBM awards in these areas. His current interests include processor microarchitecture, dynamic compilation, and virtual machine technology. Dr. Nair is a member of the IBM Academy of Technology and a Fellow of the IEEE.