WHPC Moderators

Astrid Scott-Bennett

Find them at: The Vendor Showdown

Astrid Scott-Bennett started working for Research Computing Services at the University of Cambridge as a temporary employee in 2018, becoming a permanent member of staff just under a year later in a technician role. With no prior background in IT, she developed skills in cabling, fault troubleshooting, and other aspects of physical HPC management while learning on the job. Over this time, they have earned a certification, led their own procurement and installation projects, and contributed to the build of the Dawn AI supercomputer in 2023 and its successor, Zenith, earlier this year.

In 2024, Astrid helped co-found the WHPC Cambridge and East Anglia chapter, with a personal goal of creating an outreach programme to introduce HPC and WHPC to GCSE and A-level students.

This is Astrid’s first time attending ISC, and she is incredibly grateful for the opportunity to moderate at the event.

Ana Marija Sokovic

Find her at: The Vendor Roadmaps

Ana Marija Sokovic is Lead Computational Scientist at the University of Illinois Chicago and Chair of the Chicago Women in High Performance Computing (WHPC) chapter. With more than 14 years of experience in HPC, she works at the intersection of advanced systems, AI, and scientific computing, helping researchers port and optimize applications for GPU-accelerated and distributed environments. Her interests include HPC–AI–quantum convergence, energy-efficient computing, and building accessible workflows that let domain scientists fully exploit modern architectures.

Through Chicago WHPC and community initiatives, Ana is deeply engaged in mentoring students and early-career researchers, broadening participation in HPC, and creating pathways into the field for underrepresented groups. Her next chapter focuses on exploring hybrid use of HPC and quantum technologies, reflecting her belief that tightly integrating these capabilities is where much of the field’s future innovation will happen.

Sarra Refai

Find her at: The Vendor Roadmaps

Sarra Refai is a systems administrator at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich, where she manages and supports high-performance computing infrastructure and cloud-based workflows. She joined JSC in April 2025 after completing her Master’s degree in Software Engineering in Tunisia.

Sarra gained international research experience through a Mitacs internship at the UBC CIRRUS Lab, University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, working on cloud and serverless systems with a focus on performance, scalability, and sustainability. Her interests span HPC infrastructure, distributed computing, and cloud-native technologies, with a particular focus on designing efficient, reliable, and accessible computing environments.

Beyond her technical work, Sarra is passionate about diversity and inclusion in technology. She actively participates in initiatives supporting underrepresented groups, which is also why she joined JuWinHPC (Jülich Women in HPC), helping to foster a more inclusive HPC community.

Amanda Randles

WHPC is delighted to be facilitating Amanda’s keynote.

Amanda Randles is the Alfred Winborne Mordecai and Victoria Stover Mordecai Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences and Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, where she also serves as Director of the Duke Center for Computational and Digital Health Innovation. Her research focuses on the development of patient-specific digital twin models that integrate high performance computing, machine learning, and multiscale biophysical simulations to enable proactive diagnosis and treatment of diseases ranging from cardiovascular disease to cancer. Her contributions have been recognized with the ACM Prize in Computing, the NIH Pioneer Award, the NSF CAREER Award, the ACM Grace Hopper Award, the Jack Dongarra Early Career Award, and the Sony and Nature Women in Technology Award. Randles received her Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard University, an M.S. in Computer Science from Harvard, and a B.A. in Computer Science and Physics from Duke. Prior to graduate school, she worked as a software engineer at IBM on the Blue Gene supercomputing team.

Andrea Townsend-Nicholson

Andrea holds a chair in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at University College London (UCL). She obtained a BSc degree in Molecular Genetics & Molecular Biology (University of Toronto, Canada; 1986) and a DSc degree in Cellular & Molecular Biology (Université Louis Pasteur, France; 1990), completed postdoctoral training at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research (Sydney Australia;1991-1995) and UCL (1995-1999), and held a British Heart Foundation Fellowship at UCL from 1999-2001. Her research focuses on understanding the molecular basis of cell surface receptor function in health and disease using a combination of experimental and computational methodologies. Andrea is particularly interested in facilitating the introduction of personalised medicine into clinical practice and in the development of computational methodologies that converge with experimental findings. She teaches medical and undergraduate bioscience students to use supercomputers as part of their taught university curriculum.

Addison Snell

Addison Snell is a veteran of the HPC-AI industry and the co-founder and CEO of Intersect360 Research, delivering data and insights covering the HPC-AI market and coordinating the HPC-AI Leadership Organization (HALO).

He launched his company in 2007 as Tabor Research, a division of Tabor Communications. He brought the company independent in 2009 as Intersect360 Research together with his partner, Christopher Willard, Ph.D. Under his leadership, Intersect360 Research has become a premier source of market information, analysis, and consulting for the high-performance computing (HPC) and hyperscale industries worldwide. Addison is a frequent keynote speaker and panel moderator at industry events, has testified before the U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission Congressional Subcommittee, and was named one of 2010’s “People to Watch” by HPCwire.

Prior to Intersect360 Research, Addison was an HPC industry analyst for IDC. Addison originally gained industry recognition as a marketing leader and spokesperson for SGI’s supercomputing products and strategy.

Addison holds a master’s degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Addison is a competent bridge player, an excellent Scrabble player, and a puzzle and game enthusiast, particularly word puzzles. In 2022 he achieved a life “bucket list” goal of constructing crosswords for the New York Times.

Cristin Merritt

Cristin Merritt is Head of Communications at Alces Flight, with over 15 years of experience in enterprise technology and more than 9 years in High-Performance Computing (HPC). She specialises in helping organisations navigate the complex landscape of platforms, tools, and technologies required for successful HPC outcomes.

At Alces Flight, Cristin leads the delivery of complex projects, develops business cases and strategic reviews, and supports clients in maximising the impact of their HPC solutions. She is particularly focused on translating technical complexity into clear, actionable insight.

Cristin is an active member of the HPC community, serving as Executive Advisor for Women in HPC and contributing to the International Supercomputing Conference (ISC), Supercomputing Conference (SC) series, and Computing Insight UK conference series (CIUK).

Originally from the United States, she holds a degree in Classics from the University of Florida and is now based in Oxford, England, with her family.

Dr. Marta Chinnici, PhD.

Dr. Marta Chinnici graduated magna cum laude in Mathematics in 2004 from the University of Naples (Italy), where she also obtained her PhD in Mathematics and Computer Science in 2008. She is currently a Senior Researcher at ENEA, within the Department of Energy Technologies and Renewable Energy Sources, ICT Division – HPC Lab. Her work focuses on the study, analysis, and development of ICT solutions, with particular emphasis on energy efficiency and sustainability of Data Centers (DC), High-Performance Computing (HPC), large-scale data management, data science, and digital twin technologies. Dr. Chinnici serves as an Expert for the European Commission, acting as reviewer and evaluator in ICT and computer science across several European programs. She is scientific coordinator and project manager for ENEA in numerous EU and national initiatives (including PNRR – Rome Technopole). She is also ENEA Representative in the DTC-Lazio Management and Coordination Committee. She is actively involved in the international scientific community, regularly serving as chair and co-chair of important international conferences and workshops, as well as a member of Technical Programme Committees. She has also delivered numerous invited talks and keynote presentations at national and international events. Her recent research activities focus on the application of High-Performance Computing (HPC), large-scale data management, and Digital Twin technologies to cultural heritage, supporting its preservation, management, and valorization through advanced computational and data-driven approaches. In addition, she serves as editor, referee, and editor-in-chief for leading scientific journals. She is the author of books, peer-reviewed scientific articles, essays, and has delivered numerous presentations at national and international conferences.

Katie O’Connor

Katie O’Connor is a research associate and performance engineer at the Irish Centre for High End Computing, University of Galway. They graduated with a B.A. in mathematics from Trinity College Dublin in 2020 and with an M.Sc. in High Performance Computing in 2021, before starting as a research assistant in ICHEC in 2022.

Alongside their technical work, they serve as chair of the EDI committee at ICHEC and co-founded the Women in HPC Ireland chapter in 2024. Outside of work, they are an amateur artist experimenting with textured paintings and an occasional gamer.