Keith Lofstrom Biography

Keith is a 59 year old mixed-signal integrated circuit designer and entreprenuer in Beaverton, Oregon. He has designed high precision data converters, internet routers, picosecond-accurate timers, chip identification, and projection displays. He participated in many startups, and is ashamed to have his name on more than a dozen patents. He is currently working on Server Sky, data centers in orbit, using large arrays of small, ultrathin satellites to turn space solar power into computing and data communications.

Keith invented the Launch Loop, a space launch system, in 1981. This speculative space launch system can be built with existing technologies and launch thousands of tons into orbit per day at costs below $5/kg.

Keith is active in open source and the Portland Linux Unix Group. Keith's server hosts the dirvish disk-to-disk backup program, based on rsync and written in Perl. Keith has a special interest in low power, high efficiency computing.

Keith has written for Kluwer Press, various IEEE journals, SysAdmin magazine, Liberty magazine, aerospace journals, and Analog.