Funded, in part, and used by firms such as Motorola, IBM, and US West Advanced Technologies, UltraSAN is a graphical software package in which the user basically draws the design of his system. The software allows the user to predict, for example, how well a large-scale computer installation will work, how fast it will be, how reliable it will be. Most important, these predictions are based on the design of a system rather than building the system itself and then testing it to find out how well it works. About 35 other universities have taken the UltraSAN software to teach and research, further evidence of its usefulness. Despite his research into developing sophisticated software such as UltraSAN, Professor Sanders sees his research as only a part of his passion.
Teaching is the other.
If I weren't interested in teaching, there are plenty of research labs interested in this kind of research. Technology changes daily. It's good to learn the technology because companies want you to be productive from day one, but that's not what's going to help you in the long run. You need to learn how to learn. Dr. Sanders looks forward to his future at the University of Illinois.