The Internet grew to a massive scale before a theoretical
understanding of its operation was available. As a result, there are problems
with the protocols. Unnecessary congestion slows email and Web page downloads.
Also, instabilities arise as signaling speeds increase, catastrophically reducing
data rates. In their theoretical studies, Steve Low and John Doyle have developed
a new protocol, called FAST, allowing stable operation in high speed, long-distance
networks. In demonstrations, FAST enables long-distance networks at rates of
several gigabits per second. In addition, Doyle is developing a unified theory
for complex systems, called Highly Optimized Tolerance (HOT), that predicts
accurately the power-law behavior for a wide variety of systems, including sizes
of web files, forest fires, and electrical power outages.
