ACADEMIA
Melyssa Fratkin to lead TACC’s new industrial affiliates program
TACC to help companies increase impact, competitiveness through use of advanced computing technologies -- The Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin this week hired Melyssa Fratkin to lead the center’s Science and Technology Affiliates for Research (STAR) program. The new program will offer private sector organizations the opportunity to increase the effectiveness of their research and development activities through the use of advanced computing technologies. “Many organizations today have computational challenges that they can't solve because they need more computing power, or because they’ve just learned about high-performance computing and need support,” Fratkin said. “TACC has the expertise, systems and software to help companies learn more about advanced computing technologies, and to use them to their fullest advantage.”
“By working together with public and private sector partners, we can advance their engineering, technology and computing capabilities, and demonstrate the enormous value and potential of advanced computing,” she continued. To achieve these goals, the STAR program offers companies access to high-performance computing (HPC), visualization, storage, networking and advanced software technologies; provides expert support and training in using these technologies; and offers opportunities for targeted development by TACC staff and for joint academic/industrial research. The ultimate goal of the STAR program is to enhance companies’ R&D effectiveness, thereby increasing their productivity, while also providing direct benefits that support and augment TACC’s R&D and technology resources. ”TACC has become one of the leading advanced computing centers in the U.S. just as the awareness of the importance of these technologies for business is becoming crucial for marketplace efficiency and U.S. competitiveness,” said TACC Director Jay Boisseau. “We look forward to working with companies to help them utilize these technologies with maximum effectiveness, increasing their competitiveness in the global marketplace and their impact on the U.S. economy.” In her new role as the STAR Program Coordinator, Fratkin is responsible for program development, affiliate recruitment, relationship management, and measurement and evaluation. She will provide strategic leadership for the program, identifying and quantifying how companies can benefit in terms of productivity and efficiency from TACC’s leading R&D programs and advanced computing resources. Marcia Inger, assistant director of Development and External Relations, said, “We’re delighted to welcome Melyssa to TACC. Her experience evaluating technology policy and programs, combined with her passion for and in-depth knowledge of the industry, makes her the ideal person to work with corporations to maximize their effectiveness through the use of advanced computing technologies. Melyssa’s considerable expertise in project and relationship management will ensure that each of our corporate partners receives the utmost benefit from their membership in the STAR program.” Prior to joining TACC, Fratkin was most recently the policy director of the High-Performance Computing Project for the Council on Competitiveness in Washington, D.C. Her responsibilities included demonstrating the impact of HPC on everyday life to government funding agencies and users across the country. In addition, she gained significant experience in the industry through her work with the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA), the Internet2/Educause IT Security Task Force, and Fratkin Associates, a full-service government relations firm. Fratkin earned her master’s of business administration with a concentration in e-commerce and high tech marketing from the University of Maryland. She earned her bachelor of arts in Spanish from Rutgers University.
“By working together with public and private sector partners, we can advance their engineering, technology and computing capabilities, and demonstrate the enormous value and potential of advanced computing,” she continued. To achieve these goals, the STAR program offers companies access to high-performance computing (HPC), visualization, storage, networking and advanced software technologies; provides expert support and training in using these technologies; and offers opportunities for targeted development by TACC staff and for joint academic/industrial research. The ultimate goal of the STAR program is to enhance companies’ R&D effectiveness, thereby increasing their productivity, while also providing direct benefits that support and augment TACC’s R&D and technology resources. ”TACC has become one of the leading advanced computing centers in the U.S. just as the awareness of the importance of these technologies for business is becoming crucial for marketplace efficiency and U.S. competitiveness,” said TACC Director Jay Boisseau. “We look forward to working with companies to help them utilize these technologies with maximum effectiveness, increasing their competitiveness in the global marketplace and their impact on the U.S. economy.” In her new role as the STAR Program Coordinator, Fratkin is responsible for program development, affiliate recruitment, relationship management, and measurement and evaluation. She will provide strategic leadership for the program, identifying and quantifying how companies can benefit in terms of productivity and efficiency from TACC’s leading R&D programs and advanced computing resources. Marcia Inger, assistant director of Development and External Relations, said, “We’re delighted to welcome Melyssa to TACC. Her experience evaluating technology policy and programs, combined with her passion for and in-depth knowledge of the industry, makes her the ideal person to work with corporations to maximize their effectiveness through the use of advanced computing technologies. Melyssa’s considerable expertise in project and relationship management will ensure that each of our corporate partners receives the utmost benefit from their membership in the STAR program.” Prior to joining TACC, Fratkin was most recently the policy director of the High-Performance Computing Project for the Council on Competitiveness in Washington, D.C. Her responsibilities included demonstrating the impact of HPC on everyday life to government funding agencies and users across the country. In addition, she gained significant experience in the industry through her work with the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA), the Internet2/Educause IT Security Task Force, and Fratkin Associates, a full-service government relations firm. Fratkin earned her master’s of business administration with a concentration in e-commerce and high tech marketing from the University of Maryland. She earned her bachelor of arts in Spanish from Rutgers University. 
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