{"id":2234,"date":"2004-07-15T22:36:17","date_gmt":"2004-07-16T02:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/?p=2234"},"modified":"2014-12-15T23:20:00","modified_gmt":"2014-12-16T04:20:00","slug":"schooled-discipline-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2004\/07\/schooled-discipline-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Schooled in the Discipline of Success"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"While<\/a>
While earning their doctorates at Hopkins, June Li \u201991 PhD met Yan Ke \u201989 PhD. They would wed later on.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ask Yan Ke \u201989 PhD, co-founder, vice president, and chief architect of NetScreen Technologies, Inc. what the most important lesson was that he learned while at the Whiting School of Engineering, and the computer scientist replies, \u201cdiscipline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, Ke learned this lesson well. He came to Baltimore after receiving his bachelor\u2019s degree from Tsinghua University in his native Beijing, China. Four years later, he had earned a PhD in Computer Science and was one step closer to realizing his entrepreneurial dream of starting and building a company.<\/p>\n

Ke \u201cclearly wanted to do well,\u201d recalls Professor Gerald Masson. Masson served as founding chair of the Whiting School\u2019s Computer Science Department from 1986- 2001 and is now director of the Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute (ISI). Ke\u2019s parents, who are electrical engineering professors in China, had contacted Masson about the possibility of their son becoming a graduate student in this new department. Now, when Masson meets Ke, he can still see Ke\u2019s \u201cattention to detail, the way that he can assimilate information and put it into context.\u201d<\/p>\n

While at Hopkins, Ke met his future wife, June Li, who was working on a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, which she completed in 1991. Li moved to California to work in research at UCLA. After a brief time as an assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan, Ke took a position in software engineering at Hughes LAN in Silicon Valley so he and Li could be together. They were soon married.<\/p>\n

Arriving in Silicon Valley in the early 1990s, Ke found himself at the center of a world of hi-tech opportunity. \u201cI worked at Hughes for three years,\u201d he explains. Then he joined Cisco Systems as a senior software engineer. \u201cI went there to see how they made themselves successful…so I could do the same thing,\u201d he notes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn early 1997, two friends and I started brainstorming,\u201d Ke continues. They were seeking ways to leverage their combined skills in engineering development, software design, and network integration. \u201cOur idea was to embed dedicated software on a microchip,\u201d Ke says. At the time, software was delivered primarily on disk or CD-ROM. Software instructions embedded on microchips meant \u201cno moving parts, lower cost, ease of installation, improved performance,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Network security was in its infancy. \u201cWe could see that secure Ethernet switching systems based on silicon technology would be a good thing,\u201d Ke recalls.<\/p>\n

Before seeking venture capital, the three friends pooled their own money to build a prototype. They worked on weekends while holding day jobs. Then, when it was ready, \u201cwe all quit,\u201d Ke says. \u201cGetting funding is a full-time job.\u201d<\/p>\n

In late 1997, an angel investor primed the pump with $1 million. Three months later, Sequoia Capital pumped in $3.5 million. \u201cThat pretty much kicked off the company,\u201d says Ke. Within a year, NetScreen Technologies, Inc. employed 30 people.<\/p>\n

Today, NetScreen is publicly traded, employs more than 800, and has offices in Sunnyvale, California; Hong Kong; and Fleet, England. In a world of heightened interest in information security, the company is well-positioned for success. Along with lucrative contracts have come recognition for Ke and co-founder Feng Deng. In 2002, they were awarded the prestigious Ernst & Young Northern California \u201cEntrepreneur of the Year\u201d award for technology.<\/p>\n

Still, Ke admits, \u201crunning a company is never smooth sailing. You have to keep focused, always aiming toward your goal.\u201d And this discipline, he says, he learned at Hopkins. \u201cWhen I was doing my PhD, there were many occasions when I would spend weeks working a problem, feeling there was no solution. But eventually, I\u2019d get it.\u201d Now, as Ke seeks ways to give back to Hopkins, it is hard to find the time. But even with his tight schedule and family responsibilities, Ke accepted an invitation from the ISI in October 2003 to conduct a seminar for students and faculty on network security, market technology, and trends.<\/p>\n

The two alumni give back in other ways. Through the President\u2019s Club and the Whiting School Legacy Circle, the couple helps to ensure that the opportunities afforded to them by Hopkins are available for rising generations of entrepreneurs. \u201cI have always been grateful to Hopkins for admitting me as a foreign student,\u201d he says. \u201cWithout that help, I never would have been able to achieve what I have today.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ask Yan Ke \u201989 PhD, co-founder, vice president, and chief architect of NetScreen Technologies, Inc. what the most important lesson was that he learned while at the Whiting School of Engineering, and the computer scientist replies, \u201cdiscipline.\u201d Indeed, Ke learned this lesson well. He came to Baltimore after receiving his bachelor\u2019s degree from Tsinghua University…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-legacy","issue-summer-2004"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSchooled in the Discipline of Success - JHU Engineering Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2004\/07\/schooled-discipline-success\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Schooled in the Discipline of Success - JHU Engineering Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ask Yan Ke \u201989 PhD, co-founder, vice president, and chief architect of NetScreen Technologies, Inc. what the most important lesson was that he learned while at the Whiting School of Engineering, and the computer scientist replies, \u201cdiscipline.\u201d Indeed, Ke learned this lesson well. 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