Join colleagues from UCLA and across the University of California for a hybrid lunch-hour conversation with UCLA Computer Science Teaching Professor Paul Eggert, primary coordinator of the public-domain Time Zone Database (TZDB)(opens in a new tab) and a longtime contributor to GNU software projects.
TZDB does far more than keep the clocks on our phones and computers accurate. It supports timestamps on documents and photographs, preserves historical time-zone information used by software, and must respond when governments change their clocks with little warning.
In “Keeping the World on Time: Inside the Time Zone Database,” Eggert will introduce this widely used but largely invisible infrastructure and discuss the technical, legal, political and collaborative challenges involved in sustaining it. The program will feature a 30–40-minute talk followed by an extended Q&A and conversation with the audience.
In-person attendance is limited to 16 seats, and advance registration is required. Bring your own lunch; light refreshments and beverages will be provided. Online participation will also be available to members of the wider UC community.
Who Should Attend?
This event is open to students, faculty, staff, researchers, librarians and technologists from UCLA and across the UC system. All experience levels are welcome, from people curious about open source to active contributors and project maintainers.
Hosted by the UCLA OSPO in partnership with the UC Open Source Program Office (OSPO) Network(opens in a new tab).
Learn More About the Time Zone Database
For an accessible introduction to Eggert and his work, read the UCLA Samueli profile “Time Zone King: How One UCLA Computer Scientist Keeps Digital Clocks Ticking.”(opens in a new tab) You can also visit the official IANA Time Zone Database website(opens in a new tab) or explore the TZDB source code and project documentation on GitHub(opens in a new tab).
Bring your lunch and join the conversation. Light refreshments and beverages will be provided.
Featured Speaker: Prof. Paul Eggert
Paul Eggert is the primary coordinator of the public-domain Time Zone Database (TZDB), which coordinates timestamps on computing devices worldwide, and a copy of which surely resides on your smartphone. He designed TZDB's naming standard and continues to manage its data and code amid technical, legal, and political challenges. Over the years he has also contributed to core free software projects, including the GNU C Compiler, C Library, Coreutils, Diffutils, Gnulib, and Emacs, and in 2022 he was given the Free Software Foundation Award for the Advancement of Free Software. After a career in the software industry that included positions at the world's first independent computer software company, the world's then-second largest computer company, and startups, he joined the UCLA Computer Science Department, where he is now a Teaching Professor.