SUBJECT:

Appointment of Dr. Michael Norman as Director of the San Diego Supercomputer Center

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Michael L. Norman to the position of Director of the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), effective September 1, 2010.

Norman, a distinguished professor of physics at UC San Diego and a globally recognized astrophysicist, has been SDSC's Interim Director since July, 2009, and Chief Scientific Officer of the Supercomputer Center since June, 2008.

"Dr. Michael Norman has demonstrated the vision and leadership the SDSC needs as we enter an era of daunting challenges, accelerating changes, and very promising opportunities," said Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Paul W. Drake. "We are confident that SDSC will maintain its preeminence under Mike's leadership."

"Dr. Norman has moved the San Diego Supercomputer Center into broader and deeper collaborations with researchers across the university's entire research enterprise, first as Chief Scientific Officer, then as Interim Director of the center," said Vice Chancellor for Research Arthur B. Ellis. "Mike has also been one of the principal architects of our campus' blueprint for research cyberinfrastructure. As the center's new director, Mike will continue to build partnerships within UC San Diego and the UC System, and with research institutions nationally and globally."

Norman, a pioneer in using advanced computational methods to explore the universe and its beginnings, was named a senior fellow of SDSC in 2000.

Norman's work has earned him numerous honors, including receiving Germany's prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Research Prize, the IEEE Sidney Fernbach Award, and several HPCC Challenge Awards. He also is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Physical Society.

With our colleagues across campus, we look forward to continued productive collaborations with Dr. Norman and his team at SDSC.

Paul W. Drake Senior Vice Chancellor Arthur B. Ellis Vice Chancellor for Research