James Peery named new deputy of Lab's computing program

Ray Juzaitis, associate director for Weapons Physics (WP), said Peery will start work in mid-October.

"I chose James Peery for his vision of the future of the ASCI program, his evident management skills in an integrated program and line environment and his outstanding technical strengths, especially in modeling and simulation," Juzaitis said.

Juzaitis also said he was impressed by Peery's experience and track record of building customer relationships with Washington, D.C.

Peery, who heads the Computational Solid Mechanics and Structural Dynamics Department at Sandia, has worked at the Albuquerque lab for 12 years.

"This opportunity to join the enormous scientific talent at Los Alamos is truly an honor," Peery said.

Peery said his priorities for the tri-lab ASCI program include providing designers with state-of-the-art validated modeling and simulation tools and associated computing infrastructure; helping Los Alamos lead in software and hardware development; and helping the National Nuclear Security Administration refine the program vision and increase national support.

Juzaitis thanked Don Shirk for his year of service as acting deputy associate director for ASCI.

"In his acting capacity, Don has not been a mere caretaker; he has been a committed and engaged manager," Juzaitis said. "Don made considerable progress setting up an effective management structure for the ASCI program and developed a strong leadership team. I am very grateful and indebted to Don for the superb job that he has done."

At Sandia, Peery led advanced code development teams and managed projects that successfully completed major ASCI code milestones. He served as manager of the Computational Physics Research and Development Department from October 1996 until assuming his current job three years ago.

He is a member of several key review committees, including the ASCI Burn Code Review Committee, the DOE Shock Physics Institute and the ASCI Level I Alliance Center Review Team for the California Institute of Technology. Peery has published more than 50 technical papers and reports.

Peery holds doctorate, master's and bachelor's degrees in nuclear engineering, all from Texas A & M University.

-- Jim Danneskiold

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