Brent Stephens has a wide range of research interests, including operating systems, networking, and computer architecture, and much of his recent research has involved RDMA and SmartNICs. He grew up in Portland, OR, and then attended Rice University for his BS, MS, and PhD. After graduate school, he worked as a post-doc for Aditya Akella at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and then as Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Utah. Outside of work, he also enjoys many hobbies, including playing music, flying airplanes, and many different types of biking.