UAF’S CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER RETURNS TO KEY ROLE AT ARCTIC REGION SUPERCOMPUTING CENTER
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 15, 2002
Fairbanks , Alaska — Frank Williams, vice chancellor for administrative
services at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, is returning full-time
to his duties as director of the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center this
week. Williams has held a dual appointment as ARSC director and administrative
services vice chancellor since 1999. Williams held an interim appointment
as UAF’s chief financial and budget officer following the June 1998
retirement of former administrative services vice chancellor Michael Rice.
Williams first came to UAF in January 1992 to become dean of the school
of engineering.
In the decade Williams has been with UAF, he has been tapped for several
key administrative roles, including engineering school dean, director
of the Institute of Northern Engineering, director of the Arctic Region
Supercomputing Center and vice chancellor for administrative services.
UAF Chancellor Marshall Lind said Williams’ expertise and background
is needed as the supercomputing center assumes a more active role in supporting
computational aspects of oceanography, weather and climate modeling, ionospheric
physics, visualization and the emerging field of bioinformatics. Recent
advances in gene sequencing technology have created an enormous amount
of data and information for scientists requiring innovative uses of supercomputers
and statistical methods.
ARSC became operational in 1992 and supports advanced computational research,
science, and engineering, with an emphasis on the high latitudes and the
Arctic. In additional to the immense computational power ARSC has brought
to UAF, the center has advanced research by supporting projects and joint
appointments of faculty in other institutes and colleges within the university.
"It’s been a fantastic opportunity for me to work with such
an outstanding administrative services team to oversee UAF’s budget
and facilities. And now I’m very excited to have the Chancellor’s
endorsement to devote more time to strengthen partnerships with federal
agencies and research institutes on behalf of UAF," Williams said.
Federal funding for ARSC provides supercomputing resources for non-classified
research conducted by government agencies as well as academic researchers.
Most recently, Williams oversaw installation of the world’s first
Cray SV1ex, setting the stage for procurement of a $31 million upgrade
of the center’s scientific computational capabilities.
UAF Chancellor Lind has asked Mark Neumayr, currently the senior associate
general counsel for the University of Alaska, to step in as interim vice
chancellor for administrative services, overseeing UAF’s budget,
business operations, purchasing, personnel, fire and public safety departments,
and facilities services.
"Mark has a long association with UAF and has first-hand knowledge
of our institution’s financial challenges," said Lind. "I
have every confidence in his abilities and his understanding of the central
mission of UAF as a teaching, research and public service institution."
Neumayr has been with the university since 1982, serving in a variety
of positions in the general counsel’s office. Before that, he was
an attorney with a corporation dealing with banking, finance and real
estate. Neumayr received a business administration degree and a law degree
from the University of South Dakota.
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CONTACT: UAF Senior Public Information Officer Debra Damron (907) 474-7581 or by e-mail to debra.damron@uaf.edu
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DPD/3-14-02/02-052