In this monthly feature, we’ll keep you up-to-date on the latest career developments for individuals in the high-performance computing community. Whether it’s a promotion, new company hire, or even an accolade, we’ve got the details. Check in each month for an updated list and you may even come across someone you know, or better yet, yourself!
Wayne Allen
atNorth appointed Wayne Allen as its sales director of the United States region. Wayne brings over 30 years of experience to atNorth. He was part of the founding team at Digital Realty Trust when it became the first data center company to go public on the NY stock exchange.
“I couldn’t be more excited to join atNorth as the Sales Director for the US,” said Allen. “Being a part of this global team that’s dedicated to delivering sustainable data centers for high-performance computing needs is a great honor. With my extensive background in the data center industry, I am confident in my ability to showcase the numerous advantages of utilizing atNorth’s facilities in the Nordics to the many companies in the US seeking more sustainable options.”
Prasanna Balaprakash will lead the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s AI Initiative. Before joining ORNL, Balaprakash served as a computer scientist at Argonne National Laboratory.
“As the director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s AI Initiative, I envision a future where artificial general intelligence, machine learning and high-performance computing play a critical role in advancing the frontiers of science, engineering and national security,” Balaprakash said. “The AI Initiative’s focus will be on developing foundational, scalable and applied technologies and leveraging them to enable breakthroughs across a wide scientific spectrum including materials science, biology and health science, and nuclear engineering, to name a few.”
Duality, a quantum startup accelerator operated by the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in partnership with the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE), along with founding partners the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Argonne National Laboratory, and P33, appointed Ezunial “Eze” Burts III as its director.
“When I first visited Chicago as a young entrepreneur, I wish I had been able to participate in an accelerator like Duality — with access to substantial startup investment and infrastructure, a vast multidisciplinary network of mentors and expertise, dedicated office space, tech transfer and commercialization resources,” Burts said. “Having a 1-year-old daughter drives home the need to provide education and opportunities for her to become a future STEM leader. I want to inspire and empower her to take on the toughest challenges that improve life for her generation.”
Valentino Cooper, a scientist at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was appointed to DOE’s Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee for a three-year term. Cooper is a Distinguished R&D Staff Member and head of the Materials Theory, Modeling and Simulation section in ORNL’s Materials Science and Technology Division.
“I am truly honored to have been selected to participate as a member of the BESAC,” Cooper said. “I am looking forward to advising BES as it sets long-range plans, priorities and strategies to facilitate science that addresses our nation’s energy challenges.”
Don Doerner, Turguy Goker, and David Turek
The DNA Data Storage Alliance, a SNIA Technology affiliate, announced the appointments of CATALOG Technologies and Quantum Corporation to the governing board of the Alliance. Don Doerner and Turguy Goker will represent Quantum, and David Turek will represent CATALOG.
Doerner joined Quantum in 2006 and is presently in the office of the CTO, responsible for technology strategy, vision, and leadership of Quantum products. Goker represents Quantum with LTO organizations and leads the Advanced Development Team focused on LTO technology. Turek joined CATALOG from IBM where he held numerous executive positions in high-performance computing and emerging technologies.
Andrew Ferbert, platform services manager at the San Diego Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego, was named a 2023 Trusted CI Fellow. This fellowship will provide Ferbert with training and resources to foster his professional development in cybersecurity and join a network of like-minded individuals within the NSF’s program.
“It is an honor to have been selected for this fellowship, and I hope that not only will my participation help SDSC, but the researchers, faculty, and affiliated institutions that rely on SDSC’s leading-edge services,” said Ferbert. “I look forward to working with the Trusted CI staff to gain additional perspectives and collaborate with other NSF institutions as we face these critical topics [related to computer security].”
Richard Halkett and Danner Stodolsky
SambaNova Systems appointed Richard Halkett as its chief revenue officer. Halkett will be responsible for leading the sales, sales operations, revenue operations, customer engineering, and marketing teams. Halkett previously spent almost six years at Amazon Web Services as the managing director and WW Lead for Innovation & Transformation Programs.
In addition, SambaNova Systems appointed Danner Stodolsky as its senior vice president of cloud. Stodolsky will focus on SambaNova’s cloud strategy. He joined SambaNova from Google, where he spent over 11 years serving in various roles including as vice president of engineering for YouTube, Google Cloud Platform, and Ads Privacy.
Theoretical physicist JoAnne Hewett was named as the next director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and BSA president. BSA, a partnership between Stony Brook University (SBU) and Battelle, manages and operates Brookhaven Lab for DOE’s Office of Science. Hewett will also hold the title of professor in SBU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and professor at SBU’s C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics.
“I am honored to take on the role of laboratory director at Brookhaven, a truly exceptional national laboratory with a rich history and a talented and dedicated staff,” said Hewett. “The Lab has an extremely bright future, one that will help solve some of the greatest scientific challenges facing the world today.”
Torsten Hoefler is the recipient of the inaugural Jack Dongarra Early Career Award. Hoefler is recognized for his contributions to converging high performance computing and artificial intelligence. His research focuses on performance-centric system design, which includes scalable networks, parallel programming techniques, and performance modeling for large-scale simulations and AI systems.
Hoefler is currently a professor of computer science at ETH Zurich and leads the Scalable Parallel Computing Laboratory. Before joining ETH Zurich, he led the performance modeling and simulation efforts for the first petascale supercomputer, Blue Waters, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Darleane Hoffman and Gabor Somorjai
Nuclear chemist Darleane Hoffman and chemical engineer Gabor Somorjai are the recipients of the 2023 Enrico Fermi Presidential Award. Hoffman is recognized for scientific discoveries advancing the field of nuclear and radiochemistry, for distinguished service to the Department of Energy’s missions in national security and nuclear waste management, and for sustained leadership in radiochemistry research and education.
Dr. Somorjai is recognized with the Fermi Award for key contributions to molecular studies of surfaces through the use of single crystals, the development of techniques for quantitative determinations of surface structure, and the establishment of the molecular foundations of heterogeneous metal catalysis.
AMD promoted Jack Huynh to the role of senior vice president and general manager of computing and graphics. Huynh has been at AMD for more than 24 years and most recently served as senior vice president (SVP) and general manager (GM) for the AMD Semi-Custom business group.
As SVP and GM, he was responsible for leading strategy, business management, and engineering execution for high performance custom solutions. Prior to that, Huynh served as corporate VP and GM, where he led the business execution of mobility solutions for the AMD Client PC business group.
Yael Tauman Kalai, a senior principal researcher at Microsoft Research and an adjunct professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the recipient of the 2022 ACM Prize in Computing. Kalai is recognized for her breakthroughs in verifiable delegation of computations and her fundamental contributions to cryptography.
“As data is the currency of our digital age, the work of cryptographers, who encrypt and decrypt coded language, is essential to keeping our technological systems secure and our data private, as necessary,” said ACM President Yannis Ioannidis. “Kalai has not only made astonishing breakthroughs in the mathematical foundations of cryptography, but her proofs have been practically useful in areas such as blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Her research addresses complex problems whose solution opens new directions to where the field is heading—focusing on keeping small computers (such as smartphones) secure from potentially malicious cloud servers. A true star all around, she has also established herself as a respected mentor, inspiring and cultivating the next generation of cryptographers.”
Raghunath Koduvayur and Sylwia Barthel de Weydenthal
IQM Quantum Computers appointed Raghunath Koduvayur as the head of the newly created Asia-Pacific business unit. In addition, Sylwia Barthel de Weydenthal was named as the head of marketing and communications for IQM.
“Our presence in Asia aligns with our commitment to building world-leading quantum computers for the well-being of humankind, now and for the future, and we are confident this new office will be instrumental in helping drive the development of the quantum community in Singapore and the region,” Dr. Jan Goetz, CEO and Co-founder of IQM Quantum Computers, said. “In addition, we will tap into the incredible local talent, and we are also excited about bringing our technical track record and world-class expertise to the region, and our regional team will play a crucial role in broadening our global development. We look forward to partnering with important players in the value-chain as we continue to push the boundaries for the ecosystem.”
Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) appointed Ashok Krishnamurthy as its director. Krishnamurthy previously served as RENCI’s deputy director and has been engaged in the leadership team that has guided RENCI over the past 10 years.
“The momentum behind RENCI’s projects and research has grown rapidly over the last few years, and the road ahead is limitless,” said KrishnamurthyI. “I’m excited to step into this role and collaborate with our expanding workforce to build a collective vision and roadmap for the future.”
Time has named Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory design physicist Andrea Kritcher to its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Kritcher is recognized for her role as the principal designer for the December 2022 National Ignition Facility experiment that produced fusion ignition in a laboratory for the first time. The scientific breakthrough paves the way for advancements in national security and the future of inertial fusion energy.
“Reaching ignition was truly a large effort carried through many decades,” Kritcher said. “I am extremely honored to be representing the Laboratory and the many people who have worked on this grand scientific challenge to make this a reality, some of whom were working on this before I was born.”
Tammy Ma, a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientist, is the 2023 recipient of the James Corones Award in Leadership, Community Building and Communication from the Krell Institute.
“We’re delighted to recognize Tammy Ma, an architect of the growing fusion energy sciences community and a communicator with demonstrated skills in connecting with lay audiences,” Krell Institute President Shelly Olsan said. “Few mid-career researchers have a comparably strong record in all the areas Jim Corones prized.”
Do IT Now Germany, a joint venture between Do IT Systems (Italy) and HPCNow! (Spain), appointed Marco Merkel, a former sales executive at ThinkParQ, as the company’s chief executive officer.
“At Do IT Now, our mission is to empower businesses to fully harness their potential by delivering exceptional services and support,” said Merkel. “I am excited to join this innovative and progressive team, and I eagerly anticipate introducing our one-of-a-kind, dynamic approach to the industry in northern Europe.”
The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory named Michael Parks as director of the computer science and mathematics division within ORNL’s Computing and Computational Sciences Directorate. Parks will be responsible for directing a team of scientists in basic and applied research in advanced computing systems, data and artificial intelligence, and mathematics in computation.
“I’m thrilled to join ORNL during this exciting time,” Parks said. “The Computer Science and Mathematics Division has an impressive history and a bright future.”
Deepak Patil
Intel promoted Deepak Patil to the role of corporate vice president and general manager of Intel’s Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics group. For the past year, Patil has been serving as Intel’s chief technology and strategy officer in its Data Center and AI group.
Prior to Intel, Patel was the senior vice president of APEX Engineering for Dell Technologies. He has also held leadership positions at Virtustream, Oracle, and Microsoft.
Read our coverage here.
Margo Seltzer, a professor at the University of British Columbia, is the 2023-2024 ACM Athena Lecturer. Seltzer is recognized for foundational research in file and storage systems, pioneering research in data provenance, impactful software contributions in Berkeley DB, and tireless dedication to service and mentoring.
Seltzer is the Canada 150 Research Chair and the Cheriton Family Chair in Computer Science at the University of British Columbia. She is also the Director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.
Phil Taylor
End-to-end immersion cooling solutions provider Submer appointed Phil Taylor as its vice president of sales data center. Taylor will lead Submer’s sales teams and be responsible for strategic account planning.
“The data center market is at a point in time where changes need to happen,” Tayler said. “The lack of power and the increased need for sustainable, energy-efficient products mean Submer is in pole position, and I am delighted to be working at such a forward-thinking company.”
Xiao Wang, a research scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been named a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the world’s largest organization for technical professionals. Wang works in the lab’s Computing and Computational Sciences Directorate’s Advanced Computing for Health Sciences Section.
“I always knew I wanted to combine my studies of math and computer science in my research, and imaging is the right kind of work for me to integrate them,” Wang said. “I’m using math, computer science, and HPC at the same time to help advance medicine.”
2023 Maria Goeppert Mayer Fellows and Walter Massey Fellow
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory named four Maria Goeppert Mayer Fellows and one Walter Massey Fellow. The Maria Goeppert Mayer Fellows are James Cornelison, Vrindaa Somjit, Mary Elizabeth Wagner, and Cyndia Yu. The Walter Massey Fellow is Amanda Carr. Learn more about each Fellow here.
“With its leadership in the science community and powerful user facilities and tools, Argonne is an exceptional place to start a research career. We welcome the latest Goeppert Mayer and Massey Fellows, who will contribute to our many real-world impacts that accelerate the science that drive U.S. prosperity and security,” said Argonne Director Paul Kearns.
To read last month’s edition of Career Notes, click here.
Do you know someone that should be included in next month’s list? If so, send us an email at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.
