Buddy Bland, project director at the OLCF, has been named one of HPC Wire’s “People to Watch” in 2015. Bland is recognized for his 30-year-career contributions in high-performance computing.
OLCF project director recognized as a top contributor
Buddy Bland, project director at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF), has been named one of HPC Wire’s “People to Watch” in 2015. Bland is recognized for his 30-year-career contributions in high-performance computing (HPC).
He serves as project director for the OLCF, home of the Titan supercomputer, and is the project director for the Oak Ridge engagement in the CORAL collaboration—a partnership leading to the procurement of OLCF’s Summit Supercomputer scheduled to be operational in 2018.
Bland began his career at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1984, working as a programmer/system administrator on the early Cray X-MP supercomputer. In 1992 he co-founded the National Center for Computational Sciences, serving as the computing resources manager overseeing the acquisition and installation of computer systems as well as the development of the facility’s networks and file storage systems. From 1996 to 2006 he served as the center’s director of operations, ushering in several families of HPC systems such as the IBM Power3 and 4, along with a series of Cray systems like the XD1, X1, X1E, XT3, and XT4.
Since 2005, an OLCF system has been listed on the Top500, the 500 most powerful commercially available computer systems. In fact, during each of those years, an OLCF system was listed in the Top 15. Both Jaguar and Titan spent time in the number one spot on the list and Titan is currently ranked the second fastest supercomputer in the world.
According to HPCwire:
“Every year, HPCwire’s People to Watch offers our readers a look at some of the best and brightest minds in HPC whose hard work, dedication, and contributions reach far beyond high performance computing and shape the direction that technology is taking us – not only as an industry, but humanity at large. This is the cutting edge, and these are the people who are pushing the envelope.”
“It is an honor to be included among this group by HPCwire” says Bland. “HPC is my lifelong passion and it is gratifying that our team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is recognized through this award.”
You can view HPCwire’s profile of Bland, and the others on the list of 2015 people to watch, at: https://www.hpcwire.com/people-watch-2015 —by Jeremy Rumsey
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is supported by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, the Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.
