Navicky Named Director of MSU High Performance Computing Collaboratory

May 18, 2023

Michael E. "Mike" Navicky is now overseeing one of the country's top university-based high performance computing centers.

Navicky is the new director of Mississippi State University's High Performance Computing Collaboratory. He has served as the organization's deputy director since 2021. As director, he oversees the computing infrastructure and personnel that drive high-powered research for MSU faculty and staff, as well as state and federal partners.

"I am honored and thrilled to serve as the director of the talented and accomplished High Performance Computing team here at MSU," Navicky said. "HPC plays a critical part in the MSU research that is making the state, the country and the world a better place. I look forward to working with the team to expand our computational capabilities and continuing the excellence of this nationally recognized program."

Before joining MSU, Navicky served in key flight operations and technology-focused roles for 21 years in the U.S. Air Force. Prior to his Air Force retirement, he was the chief information officer at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico and was responsible for a technology network valued at $171 million. He also supported Air Force cybersecurity efforts, serving in the Pentagon as chief of the Cybersecurity Support Division.

He deployed several times, including a tour as a squadron commander at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. He received a bachelor's degree in computer science from Indiana State University, a master's degree in public administration from Valdosta State University and a master's in strategic studies from the United States Army War College.

"For nearly three decades MSU has been home to supercomputers that are among the most powerful in the world, and that computing capacity has been a game-changer for our university and our state," said MSU Vice President for Research and Economic Development Julie Jordan. "Mike is well-positioned to continue our tradition of excellence in high performance computing and continue the vital service that MSU researchers and our partners across the country rely on as they push the boundaries of modern science."

MSU's High Performance Computing Collaboratory boasts two systems that are currently among the top 500 in the world, placing MSU fifth among academic institutions nationally for supercomputing power. Both Orion (146) and Hercules (369) made the most recent Top500.org list. Federal agencies like the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture have made investments in MSU's high performance computing capabilities. The computing power supports research in artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, biotechnology, cybersecurity, data science, weather modeling and other areas of applied research.

MSU is slated to break ground this summer on a 30,000-square-foot data center in the Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park, further expanding the university's computing capabilities.

For more on the MSU High Performance Computing Collaboratory and its seven member institutes, visit www.hpc.msstate.edu.

Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.

By James Carskadon