NERSC Organization

NERSC Center and Computational Research Division (CRD) staff work to make NERSC a world leader in high performance computing and computational science. (Selected CRD staff work on advanced development projects for the NERSC Center and provide focused high-end support for NERSC clients.)

For contact information, see How to Contact NERSC.

Center Administration   [staff]

Systems Department

Howard Walter, Acting Department Head  [contact info]

The Systems Department encompasses the work of four groups: Computational Systems, Computer Operations and ESnet Support, Mass Storage, and Networking, Security, Servers and Workstations. Together, these groups are responsible for balanced introduction and reliable and efficient operation of the best technologies for complete computational systems—computing, storage, networking, visualization and analysis. The goal of the science-driven systems strategy is to enable new scientific discoveries, and that requires a high level of sustained system performance on scientific applications.

Computational Systems Group

The Computational Systems Group is responsible for developing and managing NERSC's computational infrastructure. Their responsibilities include assessing and developing hardware and software, as well as overseeing the installation and configuration of new systems.

Computer Operations and ESnet Support Group

The Computer Operations and ESnet Support Group is responsible for the operation of all equipment in NERSC's High Performance Computing Department; maintenance and operation of the data storage system; and monitoring of computers, operation systems, and the Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) communication networks. The group is available to assist researchers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Data Systems Group

Shane Canon, Group Lead  [staff]

The Data Systems Group is responsible for the NERSC Global Filesystem (NGF) and associated activities within NERSC.

Mass Storage Group

The Mass Storage Group is responsible for management, maintenance, and future planning and development of NERSC's data storage systems and distributed file systems. Their responsibilities include assessment and development of storage hardware and software as well as evaluation and integration of new storage technologies.

Networking, Security, Servers, and Workstations Group

The Networking team is responsible for NERSC's local area network infrastructure. They configure and maintain the routers and switches and work with ESnet to improve wide are network access to user sites. The Security team is responsible for NERSC's security configuration and for compliance with DOE and Berkeley Lab security requirements. They configure and operate intrusion detection systems and respond to security incidents. The Server team is responsible for the 24 by 7 support of the NERSC servers, which serve Web, NIM Account Management, Grid, Software Licensing, Email, Networking, Security and other services.

Services Department

Francesca Verdier, Department Head  [contact info]

The Services Department includes the Analytics Team, the Open Software and Programming Group, and the User Services Group. Together they are responsible for the entire range of support activities that enable a broad range of scientists to effectively use NERSC systems in their research. They concentrate on resources needed to realize the promise of highly scalable architectures for scientific discovery in multidisciplinary computational science projects.

Analytics Team

Wes Bethel, Team Lead  [staff]

Analytics is the intersection of visualization, analysis, scientific data management, human-computer interfaces, cognitive science, statistical analysis, and reasoning. The primary focus of the Analytics Team is to provide visualization and scientific data management solutions to the NERSC user community to better understand complex phenomena "hidden" in scientific data. The responsibilities of the team span the range from applying off-the-shelf commercial software to advanced development to realizing new solutions where none previously existed.

Software Integration Group

David Skinner, Group Lead   [staff]

The Software Integration Group is responsible for the support and improvement of open source and other partially supported software, particularly the software that NERSC uses for infrastructure, operations, and delivery of services. Key efforts include open source engineering, development and support of middleware (Grid and Web tools), and NERSC’s software infrastructure. The group is the focal point for continued Grid and OSGA software deployment and upgrades, as well as maintaining the NERSC Information Management (NIM) system. The efforts of the group include database management and client server code. The group also has Linux kernel and device driver expertise.

User Services Group

The User Services Group is the user community's primary point of contact with NERSC. This group is responsible for problem management and consulting; help with user code optimization and debugging; strategic project support; documentation; online, remote, and classroom training; and third-party applications and library support. User Services also supplies user account and allocations management support; and maintains and makes enhancements to the NERSC Information Management (NIM) system, including database management, client server code, and PHP web front end.

Science-Driven System Architecture Team

This team performs ongoing evaluation and assessment of technology for scientific computing. The team has expertise in benchmarking, system performance evaluations, workload monitoring, use of application modeling tools, and future algorithm scaling and technology assessment. Using scientific methods, the team develops methods for analyzing possible technical alternatives and creates a clear understanding of current and future NERSC workloads. The team engages with vendors and the general research community to advocate technological features that will enhance the effectiveness of systems for NERSC scientists. The team is responsible for ongoing management of a suite of benchmarks that NERSC and LBNL use for architectural evaluation and procurement. This includes composite benchmarks and metrics such as SSP, ESP, variation, reliability, and usability. The team matrixes staff from both NERSC and CRD for specific areas such as algorithm tracking and scaling which are designed to develop and document future algorithmic requirements. The scientific focus for this effort will change periodically, starting with applied mathematics and astrophysics.