Paul McGuire, high-performance computing systems administrator for the Department of Chemistry, was recently awarded
Centralized “supercomputing” resources play a vital role in modern chemical research and education. Yet for many years, the chemistry department’s facilities were effectively going unused. Enter Paul McGuire: technology guru, visionary, renaissance leader. Coming onboard in 2010, he formed the Chemistry High-Performance Computing Center and designed three high-performing computer resources – two for research and one for teaching. Today, high performance computer resources are up more than 600 percent in the department. McGuire’s infrastructure work has facilitated hundreds of publications, supported scores of grand applications, and enabled cutting-edge software development. Yet, he is more than just a techie. Colleagues laud his “human interface”, calling it gentle, open, and unflappable. Prior to joining the chemistry department, McGuire’s campus work involved traveling multiple times to the South Pole to maintain IT operations and support scientific personnel at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.
Photo by Bryce Richter
Article first published here.