Papka Named to Inaugural Scientific Computing World 75 Class
Papka Named to Inaugural Scientific Computing World 75 Class
Warren S. McCulloch Professor Michael Papka was named to the Scientific Computing World’s inaugural SCW75, which recognizes 75 exceptional individuals who are redefining what is possible at the intersection of computing and research.
Papka is the director of the Agronne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF), a supercomputing facility at Argonne National Laboratory that provides advanced computing resources to accelerate scientific research and engineering breakthroughs. It supports researchers from various fields in solving complex problems using high-performance computing and AI resources.
The SCW75 highlights individuals working across high performance computing, computational engineering and simulation, and laboratory informatics and data management. According to Scientific Computing World editor Robert Roe, the program recognizes “the people actively in the trenches, deploying transformative technology to push research forward.”
Papka was recognized for his leadership of the ALCF and his longstanding work helping researchers harness leadership-class computing systems for scientific discovery. As director of the Department of Energy Office of Science user facility at Argonne, Papka oversees some of the world’s most advanced supercomputing resources, including the exascale system Aurora.
Papka and several ALCF users were recognized by SCW75, including Martin Berzins, Peter Coveney, Amanda Randles, Jackie Chen, and Gerbrand Ceder.
Papka is a UIC alumnus, earning his master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science here. He joined UIC’s Computer Science Department as a faculty member in 2022. In 2024, Papka was named director of the Electronic Visualization Laboratory. He is co-chair of the CS + Design Program, and co-director of the George Crabtree Institute for Discovery.