Prof John Taylor

I have broad international leadership experience working in large and complex research and teaching organisations including the University of Chicago, the Australian National University, Montclair State University, CSIRO, Argonne National Laboratory, NASA and the world's top physics Laboratory - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

I now currently lead the Data61 Computational Platforms Research Group. I have developed the vision, the strategy, the business case for investment, operational plans, recruited and managed staff and managed a portfolio of projects to deliver on that vision. I have done this in consultation with the relevant members of the CSIRO Divisional Executives, CSIRO Executive Management Council and CSIRO Executive Team members, while setting the broad research directions and identifying the key research projects within these programs. I have led the business development through building joint projects with Industry and Government in a manner consistent with achieving the strategic science goals and sustaining a culture of research excellence. My leadership has resulted in significant scientific impact both directly and indirectly through adoption of the new research outcomes and research capabilities developed by Data61.

At CSIRO I have taken the lead in developing our computational science and eResearch capabilities, from building world-class computational infrastructure and services, through to delivering transformative science outcomes. I have led the CSIRO eResearch program 2011-15 and the CSIRO Computational and Simulations Sciences (CSS) platform since its inception in 2008 until 2016. The eResearch and the CSS programs have delivered new capabilities across CSIRO and have positioned CSIRO for significant growth through world class research outcomes and through the development of extensive business relationships in government and industry.

I am currently also Chief Computational Scientist at DST where I am leading the the development and application of high performance computing (HPC) and computational science to defence research at the Australian Defence Science and Technology Group.

I have led the development of the CSIRO GPU computing capability since 2009. GPU computing is now essential to support research in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, key emerging technologies. This state-of-art resource is available to all CSIRO researchers and external collaborators including the Victor Change Cardiac Research Center, DSTG and ANU researchers through collaborative projects. As a consequence of these investments in accelerated computing, CSIRO is now well positioned to move into the next generation of ‘exascale’ supercomputing. The relevance of the CSIRO GPU strategy to the future of computational science was confirmed in November 2014 when the U.S. Department of Energy announced a $150M investment in two GPU accelerated systems, described as the model for future ‘exascale’ systems. In July 2015 in recognition of the importance in maintaining leadership the US President issued and executive order establishing the National Strategic Computing Initiative (NSCI) confirming the important role of HPC to the United States. Since these announcements the US has achieved position number 1 and 2 on the world's TOP500 Supercomputer list with GPU based HPC systems. The first exascale supercomputer systems, likely to be announced in the near future, will be dominated by GPU based systems.

In recognition of my national leadership in eResearch I was a Board member of the National eResearch Collaboration Tools and Resources (NeCTAR). NeCTAR is a $47M Australian Government project conducted as part of the Super Science Initiative. In recognition of my leadership in CSS, I was a Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee, Victorian Life Sciences Computing Initiative. In recognition of my international leadership in computational science I am an invited member of the International Exascale Software Project, supported by National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy in the USA and tasked with developing the next generation of global computational science infrastructure - a multi-billion dollar investment in the US, Europe and Asia.

I am currently an Honorary Professor in the Research School of Computer Science at the ANU and am a Fellow of the Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand and a full member of the American Meteorological Society. I am a founding Associate Editor of the Journal Environmental Modelling and Assessment. I have also held appointments as Senior Fellow in the both the Computation Institute and at the Environment Center at the University of Chicago in the USA.

I have spent extensive periods as Visiting Scientist at key centers of geophysical and computational research overseas including the United States National Center For Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA, the Max-Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany, and at the CEA/CNRS Laboratory for the Science of Climate and the Environment, Paris, France supported by the joint Australian and French Academies of Science, as a Bede Morris Fellow.

Throughout my career I have maintained a strong record of publication in a broad range of science disciplines that reflects a deep understanding of the role of computational science in delivering breakthrough science. I have written more than 160 articles and books on many areas of computational and environmental science. Articles have appeared in key science journals including Nature. My research is highly cited (Google Scholar 12390 citations including 3538 citations since 2016) and has attracted national and international media attention on many occasions. I maintain a comprehensive awareness and involvement in the leading science and technology trends across a very broad range of science and technology areas in my current roles.

I actively participate in leading national and international conferences as an invited speaker and have developed strong national and international research links. I have served on the scientific organizing committees of numerous international and national based conferences, including Supercomputing, Supercomputing Frontiers, C3DIS and eResearch Australasia the leading eResearch conference in Australia typically attracting ~800 participants from around the world.

We have signed research agreements with Intel, NVIDIA, Microsoft. I am actively sought out to provide scientific advice to major research programs in Australia and around the world. In recognition of my international leadership in computational science I was an invited member of International Exascale Software Project, supported by NSF and DOE and tasked with developing the next generation of global computational science infrastructure. We have lead the development of research agreements to participate in major European and US projects. As a result of signing these agreements we have received numerous PhD students and academic visitors resulting in many joint scientific publications. NVIDIA GPU technologies will form the basis for the HPC systems of the future, giving CSIRO scientists strategic advantage in developing leading edge computational science applications. NVIDIA has recognized CSIRO as one of the first CUDA research Centers. We have a signed MOU and active collaboration with the U.S. NIST in Washington DC.