Presenter

John Towns is the Deputy Director at NCSA (the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, http://www.ncsa.illinois.edu). He is also PI for the NSF-funded Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services and Support (ACCESS) Coordination Office, which provides leadership and coordination for the suite of projects funded under the ACCESS program (http://access-ci.org). With over 35 years of experience in the field, Towns has played a significant role in furthering the use of advanced research computing and data technologies for scientific research and education. John has held various leadership positions in national and international organizations and efforts, including being the founding Chair of the Steering Committee of PEARC (Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing, http://www.pearc.org). He earned MS degrees in physics and astronomy from the University of Illinois and a BS in physics from the University of Missouri-Rolla.