Diego Ongaro is a computer scientist and software engineer known for his contributions to distributed systems and consensus algorithms. He is best known as the creator of the [[Raft]] consensus algorithm, which provides a simple and understandable approach to achieving consensus in distributed systems. Ongaro completed his Ph.D. in Computer Science at Stanford University in 2014, under the guidance of John Ousterhout. His research focused on building reliable and scalable distributed systems. During this time, he developed Raft as a response to the complexity of existing consensus algorithms like Paxos. The Raft algorithm gained popularity due to its simplicity and understandability, making it easier for developers to implement and reason about distributed systems. It has been widely adopted by various industries and used in numerous open-source projects. In addition to his work on Raft, Ongaro has made contributions to other areas of distributed systems, such as fault tolerance, replication protocols, and consensus protocols. His research has been published in top-tier conferences and journals. After completing his Ph.D., Ongaro joined VMware Research as a Senior Research Scientist. In this role, he continued working on distributed systems and contributed to projects related to storage systems, fault tolerance mechanisms, and data consistency models. Diego Ongaro's work has had a significant impact on the field of distributed systems by providing practical solutions that make it easier for developers to build reliable and scalable distributed applications. His contributions continue to influence the design and implementation of consensus algorithms used in various industries today.