Lynn McRae

I have been a computing professional at Stanford University for over 40 years, working on information systems and integration issues in the University's distributed computing infrastructure. Through my work I seek to make information accessible, reusable and manageable, to create connections and cultivate environments that enable people who need access to that data.

Designing useful, long-lived, valued systems begins with a primary focus on users (user-centered design) and uses of the system. It also depends on a thorough analysis and knowledge of the information at hand. Finally, realizing such systems requires the application of sound principles of engineering and software design. I bring innovative approaches to challenges old and new, and I seek and help create a stimulating, fun and rewarding team environment to tackle any problem.

My earliest experience in information science came when I co-developed a computerized catalog of an Early American Imprint Sheet Music collection at the University of Virginia. Little did I know at the time that this would set me on a path of computer languages and databases, of data management and information retrieval.

My career at Stanford has reflected this modest beginning though a succession of works centered on making information accessible and usable in meaningful ways.

1978-1980 -- Developed interim Non-Books cataloging interface for the Research Libraries Group (RLG).

1981-1982 -- Architect and developer of Socrates, Stanford's first Library Catalog database and public user interface, in collaboration with Stanford Libraries.

1983-1984 -- Architect and developer of Socrates II and Folio, a generalized system to provide access for Faculty, Staff and Students to over 100 sources of information for over 10 years. Folio was a cooperative effort with Stanford University Libraries and other campus offices.

1984-1992 -- Architect and principal developer of Prism, a generalized application framework and forms/transaction system for Administrative systems that served the Stanford business environment for more than a decade. Prism offered a consistent user experience, enabled business analysts unprecedented control over delivering online functionality. It introduced University IDs to the campus and provided an integrated Forms Routing workflow capability. But we were most proud of its user-enabling features -- stored searches, personal reporting, scheduled tasks and personal fields. The latter allowed any user to extend the schema of any application to meet personal or departmental needs, adding data that was integrated with the searching and reporting environment.

1993-1995 -- Managed development of the campus SUNet ID management facilities in conjunction with the broad introduction of Kerberos as the campus authentication system. This included managing the development of MacLeland and PC-Leland, desktop single signon software.

1996-1998 -- Principal architect and participating developer in the initial Person Registry. SUNet ID/Kerberos and the Person Registry represent one of the earliest enterprise deployments of identity management & SSO environments in a distributed computing environment. It pioneered a model of database managed respositories of information accompanied by an LDAP Directory for infrastructure information delivery, a model that became common across Higher Ed.

1999-2003 -- Principal architect and development manager in extending the Registry-based identity management architecture with the creation of Organization, Account, Workgroup and Course Registries. This effort included the development of an event-driven, XML document-based integration.

2000-2001 -- Principal designer and development manager of the Stanford Authority System, a model adopted by Internet2 for its Signet Privilege Management middeware.

2000-2006 -- Integral to the Registries' infrastructure has been a wealth of Web-based UI applications, including SUNet ID signup, StanfordYou, Authority Manager, Organization Manager Sponsorship Manager, and internal administrative tools.

2007-2010 -- Manager of an infrastructure development team and principal architect of a new Digital Library infrastructure for Stanford Univerity Libraries, developing a Fedora-based registry, a model for the "Digital Stacks", workflow and component and service based processing model for accessioning, publishing and preservation.

2008 -- The emerging Stanford Library data models and architecture were key to a collaboration that led to the formation of the Hydra Project (now Samvera).

2009 -- Participated in two key applications for self-deposit. First was an application to support deposit of electronic copies of Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) . Another allowed curators to identify and download public documents, so called "everyday electronic materials", into the repository.

2011-2018 -- Continued the evolution of the Digital Library in infrastructure and managed the new development of services and features. This included the introduction of Argo, the repositories administrative interface, Common Assembly and Common Accessioning workflows, and support for a self-deposit application.

April 15, 2018 -- Retired.

The best part of working at Stanford is the opportunity to collaborate with smart, dedicated individuals in creative processes that leads to tangible community benefits. I've had the opportunity to work with experts, thought leaders, innovators and contributors from across the University (including the Libraries, HR, Registrar's & Controller's Offices, CS department, and departmental IT staff). My work for Internet2 has given me the chance to do the same in the higher education community, for NSF, and with peer institutions in an open source community.

My greatest pleasure comes when I can bring people together in collaborative, interdisciplinary, and imaginative working groups to tackle projects--such groups were critical to the success of each of my most productive efforts (Prism, SUNetID, the Registries, the DIgital Library). In each of these, the mixture of professionals, experts and disciplines fostered an atmosphere of excitement, invention and fun critical to creating solutions not bounded by traditional constraints or design patterns.

Master of Arts, Musicology, University of Virginia
1 year Ph.D. program in Musicology, University of Pennsylvania

Classical music, rocks and minerals, travel, puzzles and games, woodworking, volleyball, southwest pottery, astronomy, science fiction, science fact ...