Berkeley Lab’s IT Division is pleased to announce that, after a national search, Wei Feinstein has been selected as the new Department Head for ScienceIT. Wei joined the Laboratory in 2018, initially working in HPC User Services before taking on management of the program at both Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley. She earned her Ph.D. in Computational Biology from the Whiddon College of Medicine at the University of South Alabama and completed her postdoctoral research at Louisiana State University, where she deepened her expertise in high-performance computing (HPC).
Feinstein brings more than two decades of computing experience, beginning her career as a software engineer before transitioning into computational biology research in protein-drug interactions, and finally into a career in the HPC profession. Over the years, she has combined technical expertise with a strong user-centered focus, leading major infrastructure upgrades, revitalizing the HPC Technology Exchange, and supporting scientific projects such as GRETA, a world-class gamma-ray detector, and customized clusters for the Joint Genome Institute. Her leadership has been recognized widely, including being named one of the “women driving change in information technology” by the UC Womxn in Technology Committee. In addition to her technical contributions, Wei has been a vocal advocate for women in STEM, co-chairing the Women’s Support & Empowerment Council’s Policy Subcommittee to advance family-friendly policies and pay transparency.
“I’m excited to step into this role at such a pivotal moment,” said Feinstein. “My focus will be on strengthening our partnerships and bringing ScienceIT’s expertise to divisions across the Lab, so we can harness these technologies in ways that make our scientists’ work more impactful, efficient, and collaborative.”
As Head of ScienceIT, Wei succeeds Jung, who oversaw critical computing infrastructure and programs such as Lawrencium, the PI Computing Allowance, and the Condo Cluster Service. Building on this foundation, Wei will guide ScienceIT through a time of rapid technological change, supporting the Lab’s researchers with services that span high-performance computing on-prem and in the cloud, storage services, data management, and emerging AI workflows.
“This is an exciting time for ScienceIT, with researchers across the Lab responding to an evolving DOE science agenda which is increasingly focused on computation, data, and AI,” said Adam Stone, Berkeley Lab’s Chief Information Officer. “I look forward to working with Wei and the entire stellar ScienceIT team as we continue to evolve our services to best meet the needs of our research communities here and on campus.”
With her proven leadership, technical depth, and dedication to user needs, Wei Feinstein is well positioned to advance ScienceIT’s mission of supporting world-class science at Berkeley Lab.
in the bottom right or navigate to