Paul Mackenzie named USQCD chair
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| Paul Mackenzie |
Theoretical physicist Paul Mackenzie was elected chair of the executive committee of USQCD, the national organization that guides the lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD) computing program in the U.S.
On Jan. 1, Mackenzie, who has served on the organization's executive committee for the past decade, took over the position from Bob Sugar, University of California Santa Barbara.
"USQCD has been wisely led by Bob Sugar," Mackenzie said. "It is an honor for me to succeed him, and I hope to keep USQCD moving forward in the direction we've established under his leadership."
As part of the USQCD collaboration, U.S. scientists develop and use large-scale computers for calculations in lattice quantum chromodynamics, a way of determining the properties of quarks and gluons, which are bound together in nature. Lattice QCD plays an increasingly crucial role in analyzing the parameters of the Standard Model.
"During the 10 years of USQCD's existence, lattice gauge theory has developed into a precision tool for extracting the parameters of the Standard Model from hadronic experiments," MacKenzie said. "In the coming years, I hope to see even more spectacular accomplishments in high-precision lattice QCD and in strongly interacting beyond-the-Standard Model physics on the lattice."
The USQCD Executive Committee was formed in 1999 when Vicky White, then a DOE computing advisor, and Jeff Manula, DOE, urged U.S. lattice gauge theorists to organize nationally to plan for lattice QCD infrastructure. Fermilab is currently home to the Lattice Computing Center, which houses more than 1,300 high-performing computers for the Lattice QCD project.
-- Rhianna Wisniewski
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