New to Berkeley Lab Computing Sciences Team
April 30, 2012
Farzad Fatollahi-Fard, Future Technologies Group
 |
| Farzad Fatollahi-Fard |
As the newest FPGA Computer Systems Engineer in CRD's Future Technologies Group, Farzad Fatollahi-Fard will be working with Daniel Burke and John Shalf to lay the groundwork for the Computer Architecture Laboratory. He will also explore low-energy design and implementation approaches for future exascale supercomputers.
Shortly after graduating from UC Berkeley with a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 2009, Fatollahi-Fard designed the Embedded Host Controller for the BEE3 (Berkeley Emulation Engine 3, an FPGA prototyping platform) for the Berkeley Wireless Research Center (BWRC). This project turned into a startup called BEEcube, Inc. and Fatollahi-Fard was hired to help design BEE4 and BEE7, eventually he headed the design of the miniBEE.
"I was raised in a computing centric household. Both of my parents got their Bachelor's Degrees in Computer Science, and we always had computers around the house," says Fatollahi-Fard.
Born in Iran and raised in Novoato, California, Fatollahi-Fard enjoys spending his free time at concerts, playing guitar, cooking, trying new restaurants and employing his electrical engineering skills to design guitar effects pedals.
Alexander Williams, Future Technologies Group
 |
| Alexander Williams |
As a new computer systems engineer in the Future Technologies Group, Alexander Williams will be developing software simulation tools and hardware emulation infrastructure for the Computer Architecture Lab.
Before coming to Berkeley Lab, Williams also worked at for the Berkeley Wireless Research Center where he contributed to the interconnection network of Horus, a multiprocessor system composed of tiny chips. As a result of this work, he was eventually hired to design and implement myriad FPGA interface IP, including PCI Express DMA engine and its Linux driver, at BEEcube. "This work gave me the opportunity to explore the more practical side of engineering, in addition to further technical preparation—beyond school," says Williams.
"My initial interest in computing derived from my love of gaming and a desire to know how it all worked," says Williams. "In sixth grade a special enrichment class introduced me to programming and I made my first video game in ChipmunkBASIC. This sparked my creative interest in software, which later led to an exploration of computer architecture as well."
Williams earned a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Berkeley. He is currently working toward his Masters Degree in Computer Engineering, with a specialization in embedded systems, at San Jose State University. In his spare time, Williams enjoys singing, playing piano, reading a good book and playing video games.
Mathias Jacquelin, Scientific Computing Group
 |
| Mathias Jacquelin |
As the newest postdoctoral fellow in CRD's Scientific Computing Group, Mathias Jacquelin will be developing numerical algorithms for solving sparse systems of linear equations. He will conduct performance profile and algorithmic complexity analysis so as to improve the efficiency of existing computational approaches. An example is the selected inversion method, which could be used in two-dimensional electronic structure calculations.
A native of Istres en Provence, France, Jacquelin obtained a Master's Degree in Computer Science from INSA of Lyon (National Institute of Applied Sciences). He went on to the Ecole Normale Superieure of Lyon, to complete his PhD in Computer Science, focusing on algorithms and scheduling, and how hierarchical memory architectures should be handled.
"I've been interested in computer science since I was a teenager, and focused on scientific computing during my Master's degree, mainly because of the high level of performance it requires and the programming challenges it implies," says Jacquelin. In his spare time, Jacquelin enjoys cycling (both road and mountain biking) and horse riding.
Joaquin Correa, NERSC's Outreach, Software and Programming Group
 |
| Joaquin Correa |
As the newest Computer Systems Engineer in NERSC's Outreach, Software and Programming Group, Joaquin Correa will be developing and deploying integrated tools for high-throughput bio-image processing and analysis.
Before coming to NERSC, Correa spent a year prototyping algorithms and applications for image segmentation and 3D structural analysis for projects relating to hearing loss and deafness, breast cancer, microbial communities and biofuels, as a member of Manfred Auer's Lab in Berkeley Lab's Life Sciences Division.
Correa holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the National University of Colombia, and has participated in projects for a number of energy-related Colombian government agencies, including Unidad de Planeación Minero Energética (Mining and Energy Planning Unit), Instituto de planificacion y promocion de soluciones energeticas para las zonas no interconectadas (Institute of Planning and Promotion of Energy Solutions for non-interconnected areas) and Ministerio de Energia (Ministry of Energy). Before Berkeley Lab, Correa worked on algorithm development, energy management and optimization, environmental legal compliance, strategic planning, product and process design at Philip Morris International.
Born in Florida and raised in Colombia, Correra is a self-proclaimed foodie, as well as a music and film enthusiast. In his spare time, Correra enjoys swimming, playing the clarinet and water polo.
Andrew Weaver, NERSC Operations Technology Group
 |
| Andrew Weaver |
As the newest member of NERSC's Operations Technology Group, Andrew Weaver will be monitoring "the health" of NERSC systems. He will work to resolve outages and ensure that systems are available to users when they need them.
Before coming to NERSC, Weaver was a Computer Systems Controller in the U.S. Air Force—he began his service right after Sept. 11 until 2005. Weaver then worked for a motherboard manufacturer called Tyan Computer Corporation, where he helped resolve system problems for customers such as Bell Helicopters and Dell.
"My father had a commodore 64 when I was a child and I remember having fun playing computer games on it. In 1993 I received my first computer a 486, and I can't recall how many times I broke the computer with my lack of computer knowledge," says Weaver. "With a broken computer I was launched into the computer repair industry, meaning I had to figure out how to fix it. This sparked the beginning of my love for working on computers and fixing broken systems."
A third generation Bay Area resident, Weaver grew up in Fremont, but has lived in Southern California, Mississippi, and New Jersey. In his free time, Weaver enjoys riding motorcycles and keeping saltwater reef tanks.
