Jill Gemmill named Associate Vice President of Research Computing and Data

Ryan Real, CCIT Communications
March 30, 2023

Clemson University Vice President and Chief Information Officer Brian Voss has named Jill Gemmill, Ph.D., the Associate Vice President of the Research Computing and Data division within Clemson Computing and Information Technology, effective immediately.

“I am pleased to have Jill Gemmill assume this important leadership role, as we are working to revitalize the rich tradition of excellence in research computing at Clemson,” said Voss. “Jill brings a deep understanding of the research done at Clemson, and of the broader national cyberinfrastructure environment; both of which advance collaboration across campus, nationally, and internationally.”

Gemmill has served as the executive director of CCIT’s Research Computing and Data (RCD) Engagement group since the creation of the RCD division in July 2022, which directly supports and interacts with the Clemson research and education community.

“I am honored by the opportunity to strengthen Clemson’s support for our research computing community,” said Gemmill. “We are expanding our services to support exciting new applications using artificial intelligence, cloud technologies, Big Data and implementing the additional security required for regulated research data.  I look forward to continued alignment of research computing with Clemson’s strategic plan and furthering collaboration across Clemson, in our region, and nationally.”

Gemmill has served Clemson in a variety of roles since 2007. In addition to 14 years as a research professor in the Holcombe Department Electrical and Computer Engineering, Gemmill has held several leadership positions in CCIT’s research computing group.

She has authored 35 peer-reviewed articles and been cited for technical contributions in 24 additional publications over a wide range of technical areas, including 3D visualization, high performance computing, and data security and privacy. She has also served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on 31 funded awards totaling more than $30 million.

Under Gemmill’s leadership, the RCD Engagement has expanded outreach, training and support for those using Clemson’s research computing facilities. RCD also held a town hall in December to solicit feedback and introduce new resources and staff.

In the past year and in the coming year, Clemson is investing $6 million for a new data lake storage system, new Palmetto nodes, improved hardware for ArcGIS software, specialized machine learning nodes, and systems for secure use and analysis of regulated research data (such as PHI/HIPAA and Controlled Unclassified Information). CCIT has also revitalized the most important element in supporting researchers’ use of cyberinfrastructure – the “human component”— by increasing the staff who will help Clemson researchers make the most of the new capital investments.

For more about Research Computing and Data, visit the CCIT website.