Argonne researchers receive Presidential Early Career Awards

ARGONNE, Ill. (June 13, 2005) — Physicist John Arrington and computer scientist Robert B. Ross of the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory today received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) to recognize their contribution to the advancement of science.

 The Presidential Awards are intended to recognize and nurture some of the finest scientists and engineers who, while early in their research careers, show exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge during the 21st century. The Presidential Award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers who are beginning their independent careers.

“The Department of Energy is proud that these researchers are making important contributions, in a wide range of fields, to innovation and technology for energy, economic and national security,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman said.  “If the outstanding efforts of these scientists and engineers are any indication of the future, I have no doubt they will ensure America's scientific leadership far into the next century.”

Arrington's work is helping to shape our understanding of the core of an atom. At one-trillionth of the volume of an atom, the nucleus contains 99.9 per cent of the mass. The nucleus is not a calm in the eye of an atomic storm as once perceived, but a violent core with some protons and neutrons moving at more than half the speed of light. Even slower-moving protons must change direction a billion times every trillionth of a second, Arrington said.

Prior to joining Argonne, Arrington conducted research at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News , Va. as a graduate student with the California Institute of Technology.

Ross' research in data storage techniques addresses the obstacles of getting data into and out of parallel computers fast enough to avoid severe bottlenecks. Computers with mammoth needs for data storage, some with 10,000 processors, use Ross' file storage system.

“I started in the area of parallel file systems in 1994. High-performance computing was producing huge amounts of data – hundreds of gigabytes to terabytes – that had to be managed, stored, and analyzed rapidly and efficiently,” said Ross. To address this problem, he led the development of a parallel virtual file system and, for maximum impact, made it freely available as open-source software. The code Ross wrote is still used by industry and universities for computational science and data-processing applications.

“My first involvement in national labs was while I was a student at Clemson University. Rajeev Thakur of Argonne invited me to work with him for a few weeks at a time,” said Ross. After graduation, Ross joined Argonne's parallel tools team, applying his expertise to large parallel systems such as Argonne's Jazz cluster, IBM's BG/L, and Cray's Red Storm. Ross is also spearheading the design of a new-generation code that will provide increased scalability, reliability, and performance on advanced computer systems. His work is helping users worldwide overcome the input/output bottleneck that has hampered performance on parallel computers.

Arrington and Ross both attended a ceremony in Washington D.C. today to honor their achievements. They were among 58 researchers supported by eight federal departments and agencies receiving the Presidential Award. Each award winner received a citation, a plaque and a commitment for continued funding of their work from their agency for five years.  John Marburger, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, presented the awards.

Argonne National Laboratory brings the world's brightest scientists and engineers together to find exciting and creative new solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America 's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

For more information, please contact Steve McGregor (630/252-5580 or media@anl.gov) at Argonne.