Hakizumwami Birali Runesha

Hakizumwami Birali Runesha is a prominent figure in the field of research computing at the University of Chicago. He serves as the Associate Vice President for Research Computing and Director of the Research Computing Center.12 In these roles, Dr. Runesha provides leadership and vision for advancing all aspects of research computing strategies at the university.

Professional Responsibilities

Dr. Runesha's primary responsibilities include:

• Overseeing the design, configuration, and administration of centrally managed high-performance computing (HPC) systems across the University of Chicago1
• Providing access to advanced technical expertise, user support, advice, and training to the research community1
• Leading the strategic planning of HPC resources and procurement of supercomputing resources1

Background and Experience

Dr. Runesha brings over 20 years of experience in high-performance computing and scientific software development to his role at the University of Chicago. His career highlights include:

• Earning his MS and Ph.D. in civil engineering from Old Dominion University1
• Serving as the director of scientific computing and applications at the University of Minnesota Supercomputing Institute (MSI)1
• Creating the MSI Application software development group and the MSI Scientific Data Management Laboratory1
• Developing open-source software programs and fast parallel solvers for large-scale finite element applications1

Academic Contributions

Throughout his career, Dr. Runesha has made significant contributions to the academic community:

• Serving as principal investigator on various research grants1
• Authoring numerous journal articles, proceedings, and conference papers1
• Delivering invited talks, seminars, courses, and workshops on various HPC topics1

Previous Positions

Before joining the University of Chicago, Dr. Runesha held several notable positions:

• Research scholar at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology1
• Research associate for the Multidisciplinary Parallel-Vector Computer Center at Old Dominion University1
• Assistant professor at the University of Kinshasa1

Dr. Runesha's appointment as Director of Research Computing at the University of Chicago became effective on May 23, 20113, marking the beginning of his influential tenure at the institution.