In the first Trends from the Trenches episode of 2025, host Stan Gloss and Dirk Petersen, Director of Supercomputing Center at Oregon State University, talk about the state and role of HPCs in a world that’s focused on AI. Petersen offers his thoughts and insights on working with AI teams, how to converge the traditional HPC user with the AI user, the “Wild West” of AI infrastructure and computing power, and how AI is driving a renaissance in scientific computing and high-performance computing.
Dirk Petersen, Director of Supercomputing Center, Oregon State University
Dirk has held research computing leadership positions in 4 different research centers & universities, bridging business, scientific requirements and information technology capabilities and interfacing between research and administrative IT. He has more than 25 years of experience in cloud computing, cybersecurity, database management, grant writing, high-performance computing, integration of Linux and Windows operating systems, software development, storage architecture and systems engineering. Originally from flat northern Germany, he enjoys skiing in the Pacific Northwest in his spare time.
