Steve Tuecke, grid computing pioneer and CEO of Globus at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory, passed away November 2. Tuecke is remembered here by Globus co-founder Ian Foster:
It is with tremendous sadness that we share the news of the death of our dear friend and colleague Steve Tuecke on November 2, 2019.
Our thoughts are especially with his family at this moment. We too, are heartbroken.
Steve chose to devote his career to providing better tools for scientists. This overriding concern shaped everything that he did during his 30 years at Argonne National Laboratory, Univa Corporation, and the University of Chicago. It drove him to produce marvelous software systems, notably the Globus Toolkit, and, from 2010 onwards, the Globus service, that have had an outsized influence on research practice.
Steve was also a consummate architect of organizations. Argonne’s Distributed Systems Lab, the international Globus Alliance, the Computation Institute at the University of Chicago, the Globus team – each of these organizations was shaped by Steve’s vision, his often iconoclastic approach, and his talent for recruiting exceptional people.
Steve’s genius lay in his unique abilities to understand problems, envision solutions, architect systems, and build teams. But above all, Steve was a splendid friend and colleague. Because he both understood and cared so much, time spent working with him was always a delight: replete with technical brilliance and laughter, warmth and humbling insights.
We honor Steve in part by ensuring that his work, of which he was so very proud, continues. Steve always saw farther than any of us, and thus he worked hard to ensure that Globus would survive the departure of any team member. Globus cannot be the same without Steve, but thanks to Steve’s many efforts, we are confident that we can continue to do justice to his vision.
Steve had many friends in the research community. We would love to share your memories with his family and the world: please post them here.
