Paul Messina Receives 2018 CRA Distinguished Service Award

Photo Credit: Argonne National Laboratory

Paul Messina
Director, Computational Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory

Paul Messina was selected as the 2018 recipient of the CRA Distinguished Service Award for his significant contributions to the advancement of high performance computing and decades of service to the field. Messina has an incredible record of building and managing large-scale, diverse research activities. Over the course of his career, he has designed, directed, and otherwise executed numerous initiatives that have influenced U.S. policy and programs resulting in the U.S. leadership position in high-performance computing.

His impact extends beyond the research community to the government, where he has helped manage the stewardship of our nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, served on innumerable advisory panels, and led the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Exascale Computing Project (ECP) – the key to the success of the National Strategic Computing Initiative (NCSI).  Under his leadership, Messina created, organized, and guided the ECP to accelerate delivering the US’s first exascale computer in the early 2020s, its systems software and programming tools, and mission-critical applications at unprecedented scale.

About the Award and Selection Committee

This year’s selection committee includes Greg Morrisett (Cornell University; Chair), Chris Johnson (University of Utah) and Min Wang (Visa Research). CRA’s Distinguished Service Award recognizes a person who has made an outstanding service contribution to the computing research community. This award recognizes service in the areas of government affairs, professional societies, publications or conferences, and leadership that has a major impact on computing research.