Richard Taylor

“Designing software is like designing a building: You need the right architecture to make it functional, elegant and lasting.”

More Robust Solutions

Central to the success of any software application is the development of a robust architecture. When it comes to designing large-scale systems, says Professor Richard Taylor, the proof is in the pudding. “Creating a new software architecture requires substantive engineering and systems building expertise to ensure it will work effectively over a long lifetime.” Through his research, Professor Taylor empowers software designers with advanced tools for making the decisions that shape a software system’s underlying structure.

Ecosystems of Ecommerce

Professor Taylor’s current focus is devising architectural styles directed at strongly decentralized applications, such as e-commerce systems. “For instance, if you buy a book from an online retailer, you’re also interacting with a credit card processor, a delivery contractor and perhaps even a third party if the primary retailer itself isn’t the actual seller,” he says. “There’s a whole ecosystem of companies that fulfills your order.” The applications that let them do it at scale are difficult to architect and subject to security risks; Professor Taylor’s work helps address these critical challenges.

Building a Better Web

Over the course of three decades, Professor Taylor has been a part of developing revolutionary technology that changes the way we live. Case in point: the World Wide Web. The web’s original design infrastructure — created in 1989 — began to unravel within its first four years. “At that point,” Professor Taylor says, “one of my students, Roy Fielding, took it over and led the effort to redesign it. The foundations of the web today are in very large measure a product of UC Irvine. And we’re continuing to find innovative ways to make it better.”

Education

Ph.D., Computer Science, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1980

M.S., Computer Science, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1976

B.S., Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado at Denver, 1974