DEVELOPER TOOLS

Columbus, OH - The Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) Governing Board has named Dr. Stanley C. Ahalt, The Ohio State University (OSU) Professor of Electrical Engineering, to be its new Executive Director, effective July 1, 2003. "We are very fortunate to have in Ohio one of the best people in the world to lead OSC," said Dr. Joe Steger, Governing Board Chair and University of Cincinnati President. "After an international search, it became evident that Dr. Ahalt, an outstanding scholar, researcher and leader, is the right match for OSC." As Executive Director, Dr. Ahalt has responsibility for overseeing more than 100 OSC and OARnet staff. As a technology leader for higher education in research computing and networking, he brings visionary and innovative skills in technology research and unites various state and national stakeholders in a common economic and scientific direction. Dr. Ahalt will report to the OSC Governing Board, comprised of six university presidents, an industrial representative, and the Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor. For several years, Dr. Ahalt has worked as academic lead in Signal and Image Processing (SIP) in the Department of Defense (DoD) High Performance Computing Modernization Program's Programming Environment and Training (HPCMP PET) initiative. He has an active research program that has brought in more than four million dollars through his collaborations with the Army Research Laboratory (ARL), Wright Patterson Air Force Base, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), in addition to the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and industrial partnerships. "Stan is considered by both the DoD leadership and me to be an excellent technical leader in the PET effort," said Dr. Joe Thompson, DoD PET Center Director. "Since the PET effort is directed at bringing high-level university expertise to bear in direct support of researchers using the DoD HPC facilities, I believe that his excellent and dependable leadership has provided him with the experience, insight, and networking that would be directly relevant to OSC's direction." Dr. Ahalt will retain his role as OSU professor, where he has been a faculty member since 1987. His research expertise involves signal processing, data compression, and neural networks, specifically in high performance computing. "During his tenure as Chair of the University Steering Committee, Dr. Ahalt has proven his skill as a diplomatic and honest leader, "said Karen Holbrook, OSU President. "In addition to being an outstanding researcher in high performance computing, Dr. Ahalt has dramatically improved the computer engineering area in the Department of Electrical Engineering with a strong strategic plan that emphasized strong faculty and curriculum development. He is an excellent choice as OSC's new Executive Director." Dr. Ahalt received a doctorate degree in electrical and computer engineering from Clemson University, and his master's and bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech. "Stan has the unique ability to communicate not just ideas, but the motivations and rationale behind them," said Fred Garber, Wright State University Department of Electrical Engineering Chair. "I believe this ability is critical for building consensus and ownership. He relates very well with people, ranging from senators to first-year students."