University Names First Recipient of Fellowship Award Honoring Ken Kennedy: Cray and Rice University today announced that Mackale Joyner, a doctorale student specializing in high performance computing (HPC), has been selected as the first recipient of Cray's HPC graduate fellowship fund award in honor of the late Ken Kennedy. Cray endowed the Ken Kennedy-Cray Inc. Graduate Fellowship Fund with a $150,000 gift. The fund will provide support to graduate students with a preference given to those involved in high-performance computing. "From his pioneering work in FORTRAN optimization to his contributions in parallel programming models, Ken Kennedy helped shape the way we view HPC software today," said Peter Ungaro, president and CEO of Cray. "It's critical that his important work in these areas is continued. We congratulate Mackale Joyner in receiving the first Ken Kennedy-Cray Inc. Graduate Fellowship Fund award and are honored that Cray is able to help advance HPC in this way." Kennedy, the founder of Rice's nationally-ranked computer science program and one of the world's foremost HPC experts, passed away in February 2007 after a long battle with cancer. A distinguished scholar and author, Kennedy earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics from Rice in 1967 and returned to join the university's faculty four years later. In his 36-year career at Rice, Kennedy rose to the rank of University Professor and founded the Department of Computer Science and the cross-disciplinary Computer and Information Technology Institute (CITI). Kennedy earned a worldwide reputation for leadership and was tapped in 1997 to co-chair the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC), a congressionally mandated committee charged with advising the president, Congress and other federal agencies on advanced information technology. The panel's 1999 report urged U.S. leaders to increase spending for computing research by more than $1 billion, and served as a catalyst for increased IT research support from numerous federal agencies. Kennedy served on Cray's board of directors from 1989 until his passing this year. He also served as director for a number of other focal HPC organizations and entities, including the Los Alamos Computer Science Institute and the National Science Foundation-supported Center for Research on Parallel Computation and Virtual Grid Application Development Software Project. He earned numerous honors and industry awards throughout his career. For a full biography, visit: http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ken/bio.html. "We want to thank Cray for helping us honor an esteemed colleague and extend his prolific work in HPC," said Sallie Keller-McNulty, the William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Engineering in Rice's George R. Brown School of Engineering. "Rice University has a long tradition of excellence in computing and engineering sciences and the Ken Kennedy-Cray Inc. Graduate Fellowship Fund will help remarkable students continue this tradition." Kennedy was Joyner's Ph.D. advisor from 2002 until the time of his death. Joyner, who earned his bachelor's degree in computer science from Rice, said Kennedy had a profound influence on his life. "He was the one who first suggested I go to graduate school, and I don't think I'd be earning a Ph.D. and pursuing an academic career if it weren't for him," Joyner said. The announcement of Joyner's fellowship coincides with the Dec. 7, 2007 "Workshop in Memory of Ken Kennedy." A daylong celebration of Kennedy's life and accomplishments, the workshop is being sponsored by CITI, Rice's Department of Computer Science and Rice's George R. Brown School of Engineering. For registration information, visit http://citi2.rice.edu/WS07.