“What do you do in Washington, DC?”
I never expected to be any form of “lobbyist.” I hold degrees in engineering and business. I work at a research laboratory with a storied role in advancing the state of the art in science and engineering. My technical work is rarely photo-friendly, so to the outside world, family and friends I am more often seen in photos wearing a suit at some event in Washington DC.
Naturally, I am often then asked, “What do you do in Washington, DC?”
With hopes to inform rather than self-indulge, I will share some experiences. This story also leads to my interest and concern in The Future of Work.
Supercomputers
The U.S. Government owns and operates some of the most powerful computers in the world. These machines and the facilities operating them have political significance due to factors such as their cost to taxpayers and competitive prominence on the global stage. Twice a year, Top500.org even publishes a new “ranking” of the top systems, which has created international competition over the years. (I will skip discussing various related controversies here, simply noting their existence to satiate informed readers.) The U.S. once dominated this list, but China, Japan and countries in Europe have strongly risen in prominence and at times displaced the U.S. in recent years.
These computers are used less in the way we might use the “big computers” at Google or Amazon than in the way scientists use telescopes or particle accelerators: to “see” phenomena within complex simulations (like forecasting hurricanes or how the Ebola virus “docks” with human cells) or to discover insights within enormous data (like migration of aerosols in the atmosphere or detection of gravity waves). In addition to publicized systems, a number of classified computers support national intelligence and defense missions. Much of the acceleration of U.S. expertise and capabilities in using computer models resulted from the need to use computer models in place of bomb experiments upon the signing of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Consequently, the U.S. Department of Energy prominently features supercomputing among its prized assets and world-class expertise.
The staggering growth in computer processor capabilities and data storage capacities not only enabled solutions to bigger and bigger problems, but also led to powerful systems becoming increasingly affordable. Once prohibitively expensive to purchase and operate save for the likes of high-energy physics laboratories, this economic trend motivated the application of supercomputing to explore physics simulations insightful in the design and manufacture of high-tech products, what some have called “Blue Collar Computing.”
And so we arrive at the beginning of my work in Washington, DC — informing policy-makers of the value and necessity of leveraging national resources (such as the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility) to maintain competitive edge in high-tech industries. I am personally enthusiastic to work with regulatory agencies such as the Food & Drug Administration to explore how to perform better science, compliance, surveillance and product certification using computational models. Perhaps my greatest honor was serving on a panel in 2011 hosted by the American Chemical Society and held in the Capitol itself. Speaking to “Supercomputing for Science and Competitiveness,” I shared the stage with truly exceptional luminaries on the potential for an “Exascale” computer — such a system may finally come online ten years after that event.
Workforce Skills & Development
While building support for industrial supercomputing, it became evident that one limiting factor to more companies adopting computational methods would be the availability to hire or contract people with the requisite knowledge and skills. To this end, the Council on Competitiveness Advanced Computing Roundtable expanded its advocacy to include workforce development. I chaired a working group to promote what I called “Computational Literacy” — the ability to compose problems into an efficiently computable form, plus the ability to then comprehend the resulting solution. This began a journey into forums discussing education and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) spanning K-12 to graduate schools.
Prior to meeting Jen (“Truly Devoted to Saving the World”) Worth of the American Association of Community Colleges, I had little appreciation of the significance of community colleges across America. Impressed by the crucial role community colleges play in local workforce engagement and spanning generations of workers, I have spoken several times at conferences discussing workforce development — including the panel in 2014 which Jen had challenged to “shake up the audience.” Boy did we! Preparing for this panel, I deeply researched STEM education challenges, where I stumbled upon arguments for STEAM (STEM plus Art) and ultimately found myself becoming obsessed with a concern for the direction automation technology might take our society as a whole, leading to meditations on what has become termed “The Future of Work.”
The Future of Work
I attempt to thoroughly capture years of thought into articles and videos listed at the bottom of my “Future of Work: Essential Resources” article, and redirect you to those articles for my specific thoughts on the topic.
Though some forums and discussions have been held in Washington, I believe the potential impact of technology on our way of life merits a much more vigorous policy and planning dialogue. I now try to inject reflections on the Future of Work into discussions to which I am invited — be it on the next amazing supercomputing science projects or how to accelerate development and application of artificial intelligence with quantum computing or in identifying the “grand challenges” of our times at which we should aim these biological and silicon minds.
What else do you do in Washington, DC?
I love to visit the parks, the museums, the variety of restaurants in the Adams Morgan embassy district. I love to people-watch in The Mall and airport. I love The Metro (I used to live just off the Red Line in Rockville). I love the historic sites — some right in your hotel or in view of your room’s window.
I have helped write numerous reports and briefings, including ones with catchy titles like: “Computational Science & Engineering Software Sustainability and Productivity (CSESSP) Challenges”. Just recently, I contributed post-testimony responses to the House Science, Space and Technology committee relating to “Big Data and Advanced Computing”.
One thing I have to put on the record as politics become so divisive in conversations with workers, family, friends and neighbors — when I am in these rooms, speaking face-to-face, sharing ideas and yes, even sometimes semantic wordplay: I have been deeply impressed by the true sense of civic duty and sincere conduct by the people, no matter their party affiliation. Perhaps a luxury of mainly working with those supporting the elected officials rather than Senators and Representatives themselves, but I feel an obligation to speak honestly and without agenda to credit the hard work and genuine intentions of the congressional staffers, the appointed officials and the career public servants that have devoted part of their life to making our country tick. Those who disdain such clockwork and haphazardly throw sand in the gears unwind decades of progress and dishonor the patient and anonymous dedication of these stewards of American democracy.
I will end sharing an awkward story. Following my serving as a panelist at a House Briefing on Supercomputer Impact to Science and Industry, I attended a reception in the basement of the House of Representative’s Office Building and got locked inside — you can follow my ordeal in the photo story here.
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