ESnet6 Honored with DOE Project Assessment Award

DOE Office of Project Assessment Director Kurt W. Fisher and ESnet Network Services Group Lead Kate Petersen Mace, ESnet6 project director, who accepted the award on behalf of the ESnet6 team.

It’s rare for any technology project to be completed early and under budget — let alone a massively complex one involving extensive hardware and software upgrades across many states. Yet Energy Sciences Network’s (ESnet) ESnet6 project was finished more than two years ahead of schedule and for less than it was estimated. In recognition of this unusual feat, the Department of Energy (DOE) recently presented ESnet with a special Project Assessment Award. (As an IT project, ESnet6 is not eligible for the DOE’s Project Management Awards.) 

ESnet6 is the newest iteration of the DOE’s high-performance network, also known as the “data circulatory system” for the DOE science complex. Not only did ESnet6 boost bandwidth to more than 46 Terabits per second — a significant increase – it also automated network operations for scalability and reliability, improved security services, and replaced aging equipment. In addition, ESnet6 offers greater programmable network flexibility that will support evolving computation and data models in the emerging exabyte data era. 

Six years in the making, ESnet6 was completed well under budget six months before the forecasted early finish date of January 2023 – and more than two years ahead of the forecasted CD-4 date in January 2025. 

DOE Office of Project Assessment Director Kurt W. Fisher presented the award in a private ceremony at the DOE Project Management Workshop in Washington, DC, in April. ESnet Network Services Group Lead Kate Petersen Mace, ESnet6’s project director, accepted on behalf of the ESnet6 team. 

“ESnet6 represents the culmination of several years of extraordinary commitment and tireless dedication by all of ESnet’s staff,” said Inder Monga, ESnet’s executive director. “We’re grateful to Berkeley Lab for its support and to DOE for recognizing the collective efforts of the team behind this critical piece of scientific infrastructure.” 

Part of the ESnet6 team smiling at the CD-4 Review meeting, joined by reviewers and DOE representatives.