Kate Petersen Mace Selected as High Performance Data Facility Project Director

Newswise — NEWPORT NEWS, VA – The U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility announced today that Kate Petersen Mace has been named the project director for the High Performance Data Facility (HPDF) a first-of-its-kind project that will provide resources for data-intensive science.

The HPDF Project is led by Jefferson Lab in partnership with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). It will provide the nation’s researchers with tools, methods, and technologies to maximize the scientific value of data.

Currently based at Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), a DOE user facility stewarded by Berkeley Lab, Mace will begin her new role at Jefferson Lab on Oct. 28. She will report to Jefferson Lab Director Kimberly Sawyer, who provides oversight for the project.

Mace will be responsible for leading the team that will develop and deliver the HPDF Project. DOE awarded the HPDF Project in October 2023. An integrated project team, drawn from both labs, is developing a conceptual design and analysis of alternatives, working toward Critical Decision One (CD-1) approval, continuing and expanding community engagement, and developing partnerships.

“We are delighted that Kate will be joining the HPDF project,” said Jefferson Lab Director Kimberly Sawyer. “Her vast experience in strategic planning, technical professional development and project performance management will continue to drive operational excellence in the development of transformational capabilities for data analysis, networking and storage for the nation’s research enterprise.”

Mace brings to this new role more than 23 years of experience in building and operating large-scale, complex programs across academia and the public and private sectors. Her expertise and leadership in network engineering, project management and technical infrastructure have consistently delivered exceptional results, most notably with the DOE’s $152 million ESnet6 project, a critical multi-year project to fully upgrade DOE’s world leading high performance science network that received a DOE Project Assessment Award.

“Kate’s extensive experience will be instrumental in helping HPDF accelerate scientific discovery by delivering state-of-the-art data management infrastructure, capabilities, and tools to the nation's research communities,” said Berkeley Lab Director Mike Witherell.

Mace joined ESnet in December 2015 as strategic programs manager before being promoted to network engineering group leader and ESnet6 project director. Prior to Berkeley Lab, she served as the director of external partnership management at Clemson University and was the chief operating officer of CULR LLC, founded in 2007 to establish C-Light, South Carolina’s first facilities-based research and education network, which serves as the sole Internet2 connector in South Carolina.

Mace received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Southern Wesleyan University in Central, South Carolina.

Further Reading
U.S. Department of Energy Selects the High Performance Data Facility Lead
Berkeley Lab to Partner with Jefferson Lab to Build $300+ Million High Performance Data Facility Hub
DOE National Laboratory Program Announcement: HPDF