In October, the ACCESS Executive Council (EC) opened up nominations for the ACCESS External Advisory Board (EAB). There were over 70 nominations received, representing diverse experiences and backgrounds. After reviewing the nominations, the EC selected members with a range of diverse perspectives that will provide expert advice and feedback to the EC on varying topics relevant to the success of the ACCESS program. EAB members serve a 1-2-year term depending on availability. Some of the areas the EAB will be tasked with providing feedback will include:

• ACCESS annual program plans 
• Proposed changes to initiatives from individual ACCESS service areas
• Draft annual reports and other written documents, data or survey results 
• Making recommendations to the EC as it navigates its role to serve the evolving CI ecosystem over the life of the ACCESS program
• Giving insights into emerging programs, leadership, and trends that may guide program-wide innovation

Here are the inaugural ACCESS EAB members:

Jing Gao, assistant professor of geospatial data science, University of Delaware

Gao comes to ACCESS with a wealth of experience in cyberinfrastructure. She’s a transdisciplinary scholar integrating data science, social sustainability and climate change. Additionally, Gao is a co-PI of an NSF HDR Data Science Corps project that provides equitable interdisciplinary training in data science to a diverse student population.

Dana Brunson, executive director for research engagement, Internet2

A leader in the CI community, notably through her work with the Campus Champions, CaRCC, XSEDE and others, Brunson brings a wealth of experience in efforts to broaden access to advanced technology.

Tabitha Samuel, deputy director and HPC operations group leader, National Institute for Computational Sciences, University of Tennessee

Samuel has been an active member of the national cyberinfrastructure community for more than 13 years. Her experience ranges from leadership roles in XSEDE to being an active member of CASC and PEARC.

Bronson Messer, director of science, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Messer is a computational scientist who has worked on many large projects studying supernovae. He’s utilized various cyberinfrastructure resources in his work, and he’s ready to bring that knowledge to help advise the ACCESS Executive Committee.

Jorge Vinals, director of graduate studies; professor, school of physics and astronomy, University of Minnesota

Vinals was previously the director of the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute, the president of the Great Lakes Consortium for Petascale Computing (at UIUC/NCSA) and member of the Blue Waters advisory group.

Roy Chartier, director of architecture, Digital Research Alliance of Canada

As the founder of Canada HPC Corporation, Chartier brings a lot of experience to the board. He’ll bring ample insights from his time with the Digital Research Alliance, and he’ll be helping ACCESS grow its international collaborations.

Olga Scrivner, assistant professor in computer science and software engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute for Science and Technology

Scrivner was part of the IU Cyberinfrastructure for Network Science Center (CNS) research working on the impact of XD metrics on institutional ROI, bringing with her all the knowledge that experience brings. She’s also currently involved in Women in Computing (CEWIT-REU), a group that supports efforts to increase diversity in computing.

Robert Sinkovits, director of education and training, San Diego Supercomputer Center

Sinkovits has diverse experience that includes deep technical engagements and leadership positions. He was the Co-PI for the XSEDE Extended Collaborative Support Services program, which engaged with researchers on focused projects to accelerate their computational research.

Yanni Chen, graduate research assistant, Texas Tech University

As ACCESS begins to include graduate students in its allocations, Chen will provide a unique perspective as a Ph.D. candidate in Biology.

Ruth Marinshaw, chief technical officer, Stanford Research Computing Center

Marinshaw is the ACCESS Resource Providers Forum Chair – a role she held with XSEDE. Her advice to the EC will be invaluable as she’ll provide a bridge to the diverse and growing ACCESS resource community.

The newly formed EAB will add an eleventh member at a future date representing an in-development User Advisory Board being spearheaded by ACCESS Support. 

The ACCESS team wishes to thank everyone who spread the word about the EAB nomination process.