Thomas Zacharia, who built Oak Ridge National Laboratory into a global supercomputing power, has been selected as the laboratory's next director by UT-Battelle, the partnership that operates ORNL for the U.S. Department of Energy.
"Thomas has a compelling vision for the future of ORNL that is directly aligned with the U.S. Department of Energy's strategic priorities," said Joe DiPietro, chairman of the UT-Battelle Board of Governors and president of the University of Tennessee.
Zacharia came to ORNL in 1987 as a post-doctoral researcher after receiving his Ph.D. in engineering science from Clarkson University in New York. He also holds a master's in materials science from the University of Mississippi and a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from the National Institute of Technology in Karnataka, India.
He will replace Thom Mason, who announced earlier this year he's stepping down to become senior vice president for laboratory operations at Battelle in Columbus, Ohio.