Frank Brockners is Principal Engineer in Cisco's Network Operating Systems Technology Group, focused on Software Defined Networks. Since his days as a researcher, his professional interests center on distributed systems, the evolution of Ethernet, network policy and identity control, multicast and IPv6. Frank, who is a 13-year Cisco veteran, holds a M.Sc./diploma degree in Electrical Engineering (Aachen, University of Technology, Germany; 1994) as well as a Ph.D./Dr. degree in Information Science (University of Cologne, Germany; 1999). When traveling, you can find Frank attending standards meetings such as the IETF and ONF, presenting at conferences and industry events, such as CiscoLive, where he is recognized as a distinguished speaker, or negotiating his way up a rock or ice face of a mountain.