Division Chief
NASA Advanced
Supercomputing Division
As
chief of the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) Division, Walt Brooks oversees
the entire gamut of high performance computing work done within the division, and
is working to transform the vision, mission, and direction for NAS. His focus on building collaborative
relationships with other NASA groups, industry partners, and colleagues at
universities and other government agencies reflects his dedication to making
NAS a national resource for expertise in distributed heterogeneous computing.
Brooks'
history at NASA Ames began in 1977.
During his early career he led groups that simulated and designed space
science missions such as Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS), Space InfraRed Telescope Facility (SIRTF) and Stratospheric
Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).
In 1993 he was selected to lead the Space Station redesign management
team. He served as both Assistant
Director of Aerophysics for Ames and Chief of the
Information Systems Programs and Projects Division before becoming acting NAS
Division Chief in summer 1995. Brooks
later worked as senior scientist for the Research Institute for Advanced
Computer Science Center (RIACS), where he represented Ames in NASA’s Earth
Science Technology Enterprise at Goddard Space Flight Center. In this role, he developed strategy roadmaps
for developing advanced information systems technology.
Brooks
received a doctorate in physics from Stevens Institute of Technology,
performing research for his thesis at Brookhaven National Laboratory. He earned a master’s degree from the Stanford
Graduate School of Business in 1991.