Announcing the Office of Advanced Research Computing

February 19, 2015

Members of the Rutgers Community:

Advanced research computing, including an advanced cyberinfrastructure (ACI), is increasingly critical in all areas of academic research. To be nationally and internationally competitive, Rutgers needs to be able to provide essential computing and data capabilities and associated expertise to our researchers, and necessary research exposure and training to our students.

In order to accomplish these goals, Senior Vice President Christopher Molloy and I are pleased to announce the formation of an Office of Advanced Research Computing (OARC), a new unit within the Rutgers Office for Research and Economic Development that will report to Dr. Molloy. The OARC will coordinate investments in ACI and related expertise as well as nurture cyberinfrastructure-enabled multidisciplinary research. OARC will foster a community of excellence in computation and data that empowers research, learning, and societal engagement and gives Rutgers a competitive advantage. 

To lead the initial development of this office, I am appointing Dr. Helen Berman, Board of Governors Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and a founder of the Worldwide Protein Data Bank, and Dr. Manish Parashar, Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Rutgers Discovery Informatics Institute, as Interim Associate Vice Presidents of Research Computing. Over the past three years, Drs. Berman and Parashar have proactively documented the need for drastic improvements in research computing capabilities and resources at Rutgers. With input from faculty and staff across the university, they have led the creation of a comprehensive plan for building our ACI capabilities and resources. I thank them for their dedication to improving the quality and competitiveness of research at Rutgers.

The interim associate vice presidents will work closely with a senior-level coordinating committee to ensure that interactions, roles, and responsibilities are coordinated with the Office of Information Technology and other university technology efforts. Within the next year, Rutgers will conduct a national search to identify a permanent Vice President for the OARC.

If you would like to participate in the activities of the OARC or would like additional information, please contact Dr. Helen Berman at berman@rcsb.rutgers.edu, Dr. Manish Parashar at parashar@rutgers.edu, or Dr. Christopher Molloy at molloy@oldqueens.rutgers.edu.

Sincerely,

Robert Barchi