Eric Whiting

Eric Whiting is the Director of the Idaho National Laboratory Advanced Scientific Computing Division. He has extensive experience in scientific computing, visualization, and high-performance computing, including ten years managing HPC systems for the laboratory and five years in various director roles for INL’s Center for Advanced Modeling and Simulation where he oversaw visualization and led computing collaborations with universities in the region. He is passionate about the importance of advanced scientific computing and is committed to strengthening INL's current leadership position in nuclear modeling and simulation, and leveraging that role to expand our impact in all laboratory mission areas.

Whiting has been responsible for the last six supercomputers at INL and has been a leader in HPC operations. He successfully helped communicate the mission need for the new Collaborative Computing Center, provided facility requirements, assisted with design, helped justify the innovative funding strategy, and lead the transition of staff and systems to the new facility. Whiting is well-known and a respected leader across the laboratory and in the high performance computing (HPC) community working in areas of strategy, architecture, data centers, software, and immersive/3D visualization hardware/software. He is an innovator in HPC system and application architectures including implementing solutions that are cost effective, efficient, and highly reliable. He is a technical leader in HPC data center design and operations including requirements, innovations, energy efficiency, construction oversight and commissioning. Whiting has extensive experience in the successful specification, design, deployment, operation, optimization, understanding, and troubleshooting of complex HPC computer, network, and storage systems.

Whiting is a people-focused team builder in leading researchers and developing diverse technical organizations. He possesses the natural ability to work with others including research directorates and is a strategic leader in supporting and advancing a larger shared vision. He demonstrates proven interpersonal and communication skills, and has a successful record of interacting with sponsors, customers, leadership, and vendors. Whiting is a trusted collaborator with regional university administration, university faculty and students, industry, HPC hardware vendors, Department of Energy (DOE) staff, and computing/visualization staff throughout the DOE laboratory complex.

Before joining INL, Whiting worked in the private sector for AMI Semiconductor as a senior staff software engineer responsible for engineering tools, data warehouses for science, and architectures for computing systems. He began his career working for IBM Federal Systems in sonar signal processing, which utilized very early versions of HPC hardware and software. Whiting holds a master's degree in electrical engineering from Brigham Young University. He is a senior member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.