Innovators

MESSAGE from the DIRECTOR

Published December 2024

Dear SDSC Collaborators, Partners and All Friends:

As the year comes to a close, I am filled with awe and gratitude for all that  we have accomplished together. I want to acknowledge what a special community SDSC is and thank you for being part of it. Because of your contributions, SDSC has succeeded in another year of collectively advancing the frontiers of not only science and technology, but education and society through data and computing.

This was no small task in the midst of the year’s rapid advancements in AI. I am proud of how we showcased leadership in determining how to navigate the changing space in ways that impactfully advanced our work and research, the communities with which we collaborate and serve, and the scientific research community as a whole. One of the three HPCwire Awards we received recognized our leadership across SDSC on the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot.

The National Data Platform, led by Ilkay Altintas, was another national-scale project recognized with an HPCwire Award, but  it also received a BigDATAWire Award as a “project to watch.” For those of you who are unfamiliar with NDP, you can learn more about it by visiting this SDSC News page or the NDP website.

This year, as a team, we also developed and began implementing a three-year strategic plan for the center. And we became part of a new school—increasing our impact locally at UC San Diego.

The Innovators Newsletter throughout the year highlights the impressive work being led across SDSC, and you will see examples of this as you read through this issue. Of special note is the article about the EAGER Award, led by Mahidhar Tatineni, which enables SDSC to create custom research environments using cloud platforms—such as NVIDIA’s DGX—that drive innovation at an unprecedented rate. Another example is the article about  the Open Storage Network’s (OSN) expansion, which increased the capacity of the distributed cloud storage available to the nation’s scientific research community. SDSC’s Christine Kirkpatrick, co-leads OSN. In the recent Airport Fire in Riverside County, thanks to the leadership of SDSC’s Hans-Werner Braun and Scripps’ Frank Vernon, HPWREN mountaintop cameras played a critical role in providing researchers the visual data needed to track how that fire spread.

In 2025, we have much to look forward to including more SDSC innovation, as well as some important anniversaries: SDSC’s 40th, HPWREN’s 25th and NSF’s 75th. I also want to put in a plug for the 6NRP Workshop, Jan. 28-30 (details are available below under Programs & Events), which will cover both the current state of the National Research Platform as well as its future direction and long-term viability and success. The program will include sessions on CENIC AIR, AI Education on NRP, NRP as an accelerant for widespread exploration of future technologies, science on NRP and more. 

Until we meet again in the New Year, I wish you all a safe and restful holiday break. 

Best wishes,
Frank Würthwein
SDSC Director