Gregory Bell Joins ESnet as Chief Information Strategist

BERKELEY, CA. - Gregory Bell has joined the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) as chief information strategist. In this newly formed position, Bell will integrate emerging technologies into the ESnet infrastructure, work with team members to develop guidance on complex IT issues, and drive collaboration across the organization in support of a shared vision. ESnet is the high-speed network serving thousands of DOE scientists, enabling researchers to collaborate on some of the world's most important scientific challenges. ESnet is managed for DOE by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

Bell comes to ESnet from Berkeley Lab's IT Division, where he served as chief technology architect reporting to the CIO. He developed technical architectures for the IT Division, aligning them with the scientific mission of Berkeley Lab. He also managed strategic projects for the CIO.

"ESnet has a strong reputation for science-focused networking, and Greg Bell has shown proven results in his work in the Office of the CIO of Berkeley Lab," said Steve Cotter, head of ESnet. "Greg has a nuanced understanding of the needs of the research community as well as the business drivers behind large infrastructure projects."

"I'm very happy to be joining ESnet," said Bell. "Advanced networks such as ESnet  are transforming the way scientists work and collaborate, and greatly accelerating the pace of scientific discovery. I’m excited to be part of that process and honored to be joining such a talented and dedicated team."

Bell's professional interests include advanced networking, collaborative tools, sustainable IT, cloud computing services, high-performance computing, and security models for open science. Bell is founding chair of the Cyberinfrastructure Advisory Committee for the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Lab (DUSEL), a major NSF initiative. Bell also co-founded DOE's grassroots Green IT Working Group, and has served as Berkeley Lab's representative to the UC Cloud Computing Task force, the UC Information Technology Architecture Group, and UC's data center planning group. Prior to his work for the IT Division, Bell served as a network engineer for Berkeley Lab's LBLnet Services Group.

Bell has a life-long interest in IT. "Technology has fascinated me for as long as I can remember," said Bell. "I started programming about the same time I learned to ride a bike. When I decided to become an IT professional, I gravitated towards networking because I liked the idea of making connections."

Before coming to Berkeley Lab, Bell worked in human rights, managed a non-profit agency serving political refugees and served as an analyst for Amnesty International. Bell has a Ph.D. in English from UC Berkeley and an A.B. in English from Harvard College. He lives in Berkeley with his wife and two teenage daughters.