Help identifying an author

Cafe Society
1

I was at a business dinner, and a science fiction writer came up. I’m curious about the writer, but can’t directly contact the person who recommended him.

What I remember is

  1. The writer is or was a professor at UC San Diego (or Cal State, but definitely San Diego).
    1a. I believe he was a professor of Computer Science.

  2. I recognized the name. He’s one of the fairly big ones

  3. He writes about (if I recall) aa post-singularity universe in which the rules of what can and cannot be done are different the farther one is from the centre of the universe

  4. I believe that’s “can’t be done” as in “what is possible”, rather than “allowed”

That’s what I’ve got. Can anyone Name That Author?

2

Vernor Vinge?

3

Got it in one. Thank you.

4

Vernor Vinge: