Organizer H.T. Kung Seeks an Interdisciplinary Focus

By Jonathan Ferziger

Special to the Gazette

H.T. Kung is a computer speed demon. In a Harvard lab brimming with million-dollar equipment, he pushes the limits of data transfer, zapping through cyberspace at 10,000 times the speed most of us cruise the Internet.

What gets him truly excited, though, is the $50 hub connector he found a few months ago at a local discount store. It allowed him to link the five computers at his home in Lexington, Mass., with a simple 28,800 bps modem. Compared to the ATM technology he is pioneering at work -- not the bank machine variety -- that's more like slogging through molasses, but Kung was thrilled nonetheless.

"I was so bored one day at school. I wanted to have some fun so I went to Computer City," said the Gordon McKay Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. "Two years ago, that piece of equipment would have cost $2,000."

As both a prominent research scientist and avid bargain stalker, Kung, 50, blends academic discipline with a surprising sense of whimsy. Both were qualities he relied on during the 14 months it took to organize the Harvard Conference on the Internet and Society, for which he serves as conference chairman.

He goes by the initials, H.T., noting some of his friends think it means "High Tech." In fact, it stands for Hsiang-Tsung, a Chinese name that links him 75 generations back to Confucius. Born in Shanghai and raised until age 23 in Taiwan, Kung treasures a family book that records every male ancestor back to the Chinese philosopher, a span of 2,500 years.

Sitting in his office at Pierce Hall for an interview last week, Kung's eyes closed with fatigue as his secretary tortured him with a dozen questions over the minute details of the conference, such as how the note-takers' name tags should look.

He responded more or less patiently. It's a bit of a stretch from the issues he usually faces concerning the asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) technology that enable computers to transfer data at a lightning 622 megabits per second.

But he's willing to put up with whatever it takes to get the event off the ground. At first the cross-disciplinary nature of the conference, addressing everything from how to make money with the World Wide Web to the threat of cultural imperialism, seemed far too broad and unwieldy.

"People were afraid it wouldn't go anywhere," he recalled during an interview. "They'd say, 'You want to talk about law, talk about law. You want to talk about publishing, talk about publishing You want to talk about technology, talk about technology. But put it all together and it doesn't make sense.' "

That, of course, was before Bill Gates signed on as headliner and attendance was capped at 1,000, despite the steep $995 registration fee. Clearly the possibility of talking to -- or just being in the same room as -- the billionaire Microsoft CEO was a magnet for both the roster of distinguished speakers and the sold-out registration, which should just about cover the $750,000 cost of staging the conference. The fact that this is Gates's first appearance at Harvard since he dropped out of the University 20 years ago has sent interest in the event soaring.

"It's all about uncertainty," he said. "People know the Internet is big, so big that you can look at it from so many angles but nobody can grasp the whole idea. By coming to this conference, they get a cross-section. They can talk to lawyers, to publishers, to technology people -- maybe even to Gates -- and get a real comprehensive view of what's going on."

While Kung has been teaching for more than 20 years, first at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, and then since 1992 at Harvard, he has also kept a leg in the corporate arena. Working at one time or another for Northern Telcom, Motorola, Intel, General Electric, and TRW, has taught him that progress in technology cannot be purely academic.

His research revolves around setting new speed records for computer and communications networks and requires a steady influx of corporate funding. Only five copies of Kung's experimental OC-12 ATM network switch have been built, at approximately $1 million apiece. But many are banking on it to provide the critical thrust that will deliver the promise of the Internet, enabling the seamless simultaneous delivery of data, voice, and video-on-demand.

"A lot of people are talking about the Internet, but very few have made any money out of it. This is what people are coming to learn about," he said. "The technology is there. The question is how the money is going to be made."

At the same time, Kung is loathe to trust the Microsofts, Apples and Intels of this world with total control.

"Unfortunately today, a lot of the architecture decisions are being made by a few companies," he said. "I'm not saying they don't keep what's good for society in mind but they are driven primarily by the profit motive."

While thoroughly immersed in the brave new world emerging from his own laboratory and affiliated corporate research centers, Kung says he looks to his own heritage to keeps himself grounded.

"I do believe," he said, "that some of the values that Confucius preached thousands of years ago, such as family and harmony of society, will never change no matter how much technology advances."

Jonathan Ferziger is a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, on leave from United Press International, where he was Jerusalem bureau chief.