Dear Faculty:
Following the announcement that Dr. Michael Levine and Dr. Ralph Roskies are stepping down as co-directors of the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC), we are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Nick Nystrom, currently the center’s senior director of research, as interim director of the PSC, effective immediately.
During this interim period, Nick will oversee the PSC’s state-of-the-art research into high-performance computing, data analytics, science and communications, working closely with Drs. Levine and Roskies to ensure a smooth and seamless transition.
A research physicist, Nick joined the PSC in 1992 and for the past year has led the center’s scientific research teams, including the User Support for Scientific Applications, Biomedical and Public Health Applications groups, as well as a core team targeting converged high-performance computing and big data production resources and strategic applications.
Since joining the PSC, Nick has developed massively scalable applications and conducted research in areas highly relevant to the work of the center, including quantum chemistry, software and performance engineering, and many others. He has been instrumental in computer architecture initiatives, including leading the team that developed Bridges, a new kind of supercomputer that brings high-performance computing together with artificial intelligence and big data. Nick also has been a key player in the development of new collaborations within our universities and across academia, industry and government.
For the past 30 years, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, a joint effort of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh that is housed administratively in the Mellon College of Science at CMU, has provided and supported extraordinary scientific achievements – a legacy made possible by the exceptional leadership of Mike and Ralph and James Kasdorf of Westinghouse. We remain grateful to their service to both universities and to the national scientific research communities. We are confident that Nick will build on their legacy to ensure that the PSC continues to be a nationally leading center that provides the best possible computing environment for scientists and engineers.
Moving forward, the search committee to identify a permanent leader of the center will be co-chaired by Rebecca Doerge, dean of the Mellon College of Science at CMU, and Rob Rutenbar, senior vice chancellor for research at Pitt, with input from stakeholders at Pitt and CMU and senior staff at the PSC. We look forward to an announcement of that appointment in the months ahead.
Sincerely,
Laurie Weingart
Interim Provost
Carnegie Mellon University
Patricia E. Beeson
Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor
University of Pittsburgh