Smarr to leave NSCA

"With this impending turning point in our lives, Janet and I have thought a lot about the future," Smarr said. "I have come to realize that after 20 intense years of building at UIUC—creating first NCSA and then the Alliance—that I need some time for renewal. During the last few years I have turned down a number of very interesting job offers, but finally, the UCSD offers for both of us just seemed like the right point of departure. It will allow us to continue the close family ties to our sons and give us the personal challenges of new surroundings and new intellectual opportunities."

Smarr will join the UCSD computer science and engineering faculty, where he will collaborate with a wide range of academic researchers and private-sector companies that work on the frontiers of development of the global information infrastructure. Janet Smarr, a UI professor of comparative literature, will become a faculty member in the UCSD department of theater and dance.

"Larry Smarr has made enormous contributions to the University and this community. He and his team have literally helped define the new high tech world we live in and put the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign at the center of the information revolution," Provost Richard Herman. "We are very fortunate that one of those contributions is to build a very strong team at NCSA and the Alliance that is ready to address the exciting challenges of the next few years.

"We are grateful for Larry and Janet's 20 years here and glad that they will continue to be involved through Larry's role as strategic adviser to NCSA and the Alliance, through his continued efforts to market the Research Park, and through his new software startup venture right here in Champaign-Urbana. We look forward to seeing much of Larry and Janet in the coming years."

On March 2, Smarr, who founded NCSA in 1985 and the Alliance in 1997, assumed the new role of Alliance Strategic Advisor. This change freed him of his management responsibilities of the Alliance and NCSA. With his announcement of a more complete framework for his future activities, Smarr made it clear that he will continue his close working relationship with UIUC, NCSA and the Alliance.

Specifically, Smarr will remain involved in these areas:

• Alliance Strategic Advisor: Smarr will continue to work closely with the Alliance management team to identify emerging trends that will become part of the second five years of Alliance focus areas. As a part of this role, Smarr is a co-principal investigator on the Alliance proposal for an National Science Foundation terascale computing system and will play an active role with the Alliance team during the competition. Smarr will continue to use the Access Grid to partake in Alliance virtual meetings, with quarterly visits to campus to work with Alliance and NCSA management.
• Recruitment to U of I Research Park: Smarr also will continue to work with the university as it develops the new University Research Park. This rapidly expanding research park will soon be anchored at the north end with the new NCSA and department of computer science buildings. Smarr will work directly with the Atkins Group and Fox Development, developers of the University Research Park, to attract technology companies to this community.
• Co-Founding of Champaign-Urbana Software Startup : Smarr is co-founding a software development and services company with NCSA Executive Director Jim Bottum. The company will be headquartered in the University Research Park. This company will focus on rapid transition of Alliance and UIUC research prototypes to private sector services and products.

"The Alliance and NCSA have achieved the reputation that they have because of the hard work and the vision of Larry Smarr," said Dan Reed, who took over the helm as Alliance director in March. "We are fortunate that we will continue to have Larry's input and insight even as he moves to a new position on the West Coast."