Tim Boerner Email and Phone Number

As an Assistant Director at NCSA, I will focus on specific campus and national efforts of the department. At the campus level, I work with the Deputy CIO for Research IT to assemble and provide a comprehensive set of technology services that meet the needs of a broad range of campus researchers. A significant amount of my time will be spent on the Illinois Campus Cluster Program and other similar technical resources. As the national level, I am the manager of XSEDE Data Transfer Services, which is the result of merging the XSEDE networking and data services teams. The result is a group that has the breadth of scope to address all aspects of end-to-end data transfer challenges for researchers across the nation.

In February 2014, I was promoted to Technical Program Manager and took over the staff supervision , development, and management functions for NCSA's network engineering team. Throughout 2014, I added two other leadership roles and began to shift focus away from the day-to-day technical work of a network engineer. I led two grant proposal efforts in response to NSF solicitations, joined the conference committee for the annual XSEDE conference (from 2014 through 2016), and developed or revised a number of contracts and agreements in support of NCSA networking efforts and its major projects.L3 Manager for XSEDEnet (July 2014 to present)I transitioned from deputy to manager for the networking efforts for the national XSEDE project, where I coordinate work efforts with a geographically dispersed team. This includes monitoring and reporting on area metrics and activities, and working closely with the project management team on the successful execution of tasks.Operations Manager for Illinois Campus Cluster Program (October 2014 to present)Unrelated to my networking roles, I was asked to take lead and management roles for the operations of the Illinois Campus Cluster Program (ICCP), a campus-level high-performance computing resource. In this role, I coordinate technical operations across multiple teams; interface with investors, technical representatives, and governance and advisory bodies; negotiate work priorities for technical teams funded by program; oversee implementation of complex technical projects for the cluster; develop technical strategy and direction for the program; and maintain vendor relationships that support program goals.

In September 2012, I took on the leadership position for the NCSA network engineering team. In addition to functioning as a key technical resource for the team, I add responsibilities for coordinating and prioritizing the team's workload, hiring networking talent, ensuring team alignment with NCSA's strategic direction, and co-managing networking budgets for major projects.As a senior network engineer, I became the primary network engineer for the Blue Waters project, built relationships with campus IT leaders, managed our vendor relationships, and coordinated networking efforts with the NCSA security teams. In addition, I led complex, goal-oriented technical discussions on architectural and performance-related topics, attended conference to represent NCSA, and began contributing to grant proposals submitted to the NSF and other agencies.

The network engineering team at NCSA is responsible for all aspects of network design, implementation, and maintenance for the high-performance NCSA network, including LAN, WAN, data center, and HPC systems networks. In collaboration with HPC systems and storage admins, network engineers develop world-class networks for supercomputing resources. Maintaining strong working relationships with many groups (both inside and outside of NCSA and UIUC) is a key part of what drives the team's effectiveness in the realm of research networking. As a member of the team, I worked both independently and as part of a team on many projects, such as revamping the remote-access VPN system and upgrading the out-of-band management network. I pushed for greater involvement with high-speed interconnect networks such as InfiniBand, and supported NCSA's Private Sector Program where I consulted with partner companies on their HPC needs.

At The Computer Hut, I joined a dynamic team of talented systems engineers who focused on Microsoft, Cisco, and HP solutions. Within months of starting, I became the lead Cisco network engineer on the team and began supporting a major state-wide bank with over 50 locations. I designed and implemented a wide variety of network and server systems for clients, worked in a team environment to address the technology needs of our clients through customized solutions, and was often called a first-contact Engineer for new customers to help us earn their business. I introduced new technologies into our solution stack, such as FibreChannel SANs and voice over IP (VoIP) telephony.I also led initiatives that improved our business, such as promoting team growth by knowledge sharing and cross-training with other technicians, assisting the sales team as a pre-sales engineer, and revamping the business processes of our sales-to-engineering pipeline.

Upon returning from work at the FSU London Study Centre, I was promoted and was able to focus all work efforts on building FSU's first network security team from the ground up alongside co-worker Joe Ferris. In addition to incident response, we developed procedures for identifying, investigating, and securing computer systems after security breaches occurred. This included data collection and reconnaissance scripts that interacted with the campus Packeteer systems, developing security incident write-up templates, patch management, and outreach programs to raise security awareness campus-wide. I was also responsible for administration of the security team's Windows and Linux servers.

Working full-time and completing my Computer Science degree, I provided desktop and server support for the department of User Services (Office of Technology Integration), which provided technical assistance for dozens of campus departments, both administrative and academic. I worked on a number of teams, including server administration and backups, and on special projects, such as computer security incident response (an initiative co-worker Joe Ferris and I started).In August 2002, I oversaw a major Cisco network upgrade for the FSU London Study Centre in London, England. My work there led to a year long assignment, from May 2003 to May 2004, as the lead IT supervisor for the London campus. To complete the network overhaul, I rebuilt all servers and labs, moving to an Active Directory-based infrastructure. I also coordinated the departmental needs of the Centre with the International Programs department at the FSU main campus, supervised a support staff of 3 technology and library interns, and hired a permanent, local IT manager for the campus.

As a student worker, I led a readiness initiative for the Year 2000 ("y2k") transition, provided advanced desktop support across campus, and assisted full-time staff with server administration and support.

Returning for a second summer, I continued my work as a computer and network support technician, repairing and building desktop workstations both in-shop and onsite. I also performed business network and server support onsite, with a focus on Windows and Novell networks.

At Up & Running, I worked as a computer and network support technician, repairing and building desktop workstations both in-shop and onsite. I also performed business network and server support onsite, with a focus on Windows and Novell networks.