Bio

Currently retired - which is to say, no longer getting paid for my work
(2013 interview transcript at: https://ethw.org/Oral-History:James_Isaak)

Professional Activities

• 2020/23 Chair, IEEE New Hampshire Section

• 2019/20/23: Chair IEEE-USA CCP (Committee on Communications Policy)

• 2018: Sr. Leadership NH participant; leading IEEE-USA privacy policy development and contributing to AI policy discussion

• community outreach for TEDx Amoskeag Millyard, and helping with the Leadership New Hampshire NH vision statement

• past blog master for SSIT

• 2016/17 Chair NH IEEE Life Members, Region 1 Industry Liaison

• 2015 Vice President of the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology

  • Member of Board since 2002 including leading Web redesign, and Logo activities

• 2010 President of the IEEE Computer Society

  • Member of Board for 12+ years including VP Standards, and VP Technical Activities

• 2003/4 Division VIII Director, IEEE Board of Directors, candidate for Division V 2014/15

• IEEE and ISO Standards:

  • Chair: IEEE POSIX (UNIX) and ISO POSIX standards development 1984-1994

    • overall industry impact on the order of magnitude of 100 billion dollars

    • and basis for most modern smartphone and web server environments (Android, Linux, MacOS/BSD, etc.)

  • Chair web site engineering best practices standards committee though 2001(IEEE Std. 2001, ISO Std 23026)

• Member IEEE Women in Engineering

• Member IEEE-USA Committee on Communications & Information Policy and its successors

• Congressional Visit Delegate (2013, 14)

• Chair IEEE New Hampshire Computer Society Chapter 2005-2008,  Section PR Chair 2013, Treasurer 2014/15

Industry (30 years)

• Digital Equipment  - Director of Information Infrastructure Standards and prior to that Director of POSIX Standards

• Charles River Data Systems - Director, Strategic Planning, Director Marketing

• Data General Corp  - various roles: Product Manager, District manager of Systems Engineering, Systems  Engineer

• Intel - supervisor in test automation group

• CALMA - operating systems development, CAD/CAM applications

• IBM - operating systems development, laboratory automation (Palo Alto Scientific Center)

Academia (6 years)

• Teaching Information Technology at Southern New Hampshire University (full time, undergraduate and graduate)

• Part time teaching at Daniel Webster College, Nashua Community College

Awards

• 2022 IEEE Computer Society Distinguished Contributor

• 1994 Recipient of the IEEE Computer Society "Hans Karlsson Award" for "Outstanding Leadership and achievement though cooperation -- in recognition of outstanding skills and dedication to diplomacy, team facilitation and joint achievement, in the development or promotion of standards in the computer industry where individual aspirations, corporate competition, and organizational rivalry could otherwise be counter to the benefit of society"

• 2000 Recipient of IEEE Third Millennium Medal

• IEEE Computer Society "Golden Core" recipient, 1997

• Outstanding Contribution Award; IEEE Computer Society,

• July 1989. "For outstanding technical achievement in the development of the POSIX Standard (P1003)"

• IEEE CS Technical Committee on Operating Systems, POSIX Pioneer recognition (1988), "For contribution to the formation, growth, and adoption, of the IEEE P1003.1 Standard."

• Stanford Computing Pioneer, 1987

Other

• Graduate of Leadership New Hampshire class of 2002

• Graduate of Senior Leadership NH class of 2018

• MSEE - Computer Engineering and BS-Computer Studies, Stanford University (a while ago)

• US Patent 6,622,247: "Method for certifying the authenticity of digital objects"