OAK RIDGE (WATE) - The Joint Institute for Computational
Sciences (JICS) at the University of Tennessee,
Knoxville, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has a new director.
Tony
Mezzacappa, a leader in the field of astrophysics and supernova science, has been named director of JICS, which operates Titan, the world's fastest supercomputer.
Mezzacappa
is a world leader in computational astrophysics and a pioneer in the
field of supernova science. He is a UT-Battelle Corporate Fellow and
group leader for theoretical physics in the Physics
Division at ORNL and joint professor in the Department of Physics and
Astronomy at UT.
At ORNL,
Mezzacappa directed the Terascale Supernova Initiative for five years,
leading the multi-million dollar, multi-year U.S. Department of Energy
initiative involving several dozen researchers
at a dozen institutions around the world.
He has also been involved in
several community outreach efforts, including being a founding member of
the Sequoyah Elementary Foundation and leading a major IT upgrade for
Sequoyah Elementary School in West Knoxville.
"Dr.
Mezzacappa brings unique and extensive experience in computational
astrophysics, supernova science and academic vision to the JICS director
position," said UT Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek. "We are
excited for his leadership and the forward-moving direction of the
center."
Prior to UT
and ORNL, Mezzacappa held positions at the University of Pennsylvania
and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned his
doctorate in 1988 from the University of Texas.
Mezzacappa
is a fellow of the American Physical Society and received a Department
of Energy Young Scientist Award. He received the Presidential Early
Career Award in Science and Engineering from President
Bill Clinton in 1999.
Mezzacappa
has been active in communicating science to the general public. He and
his work have been featured on the National Geographic Channel and in
Scientific American.
More information about JICS is available on UT's
website.
Dr. Tony Mezzacappa (Source: UT)
