U of I names new director at supercomputer center

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A top official from a Russian research university will be the new director of the University of Illinois’ National Center for Supercomputing Applications.

The University of Illinois said Monday that H. Edward Seidel will be the new NCSA director.

Seidel has been a senior vice president at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Moscow. The institute is a relatively new private university opened in a partnership between the Russian government and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Seidel replaces Thom Dunning, who retired this year.

Seidel’s resume includes work at the National Science Foundation and the University of Illinois. He held several positions at the U of I in the 1990s including a senior researcher position at NCSA.

He has a Ph.D. from Yale in relativistic astrophysics.