After 40 years of service at The University of Queensland, Martin Nicholls is retiring from UQ and his role at the Research Computing Centre.
Martin has worked as a Specialist Systems Programmer at RCC since its inception in 2011.
“I’ve seen the University recognise the importance and growth of research computation with greater investment in infrastructure,” said Martin reflecting on his time at UQ.
He first worked for Information Technology Services (ITS) in its Mini Computer maintenance group. He then held various software engineering roles and some temporary team manager positions in ITS.
He took long service leave in the early 1990s to study a Masters in scientific computing and visualisation at Greenwich University in London.
“I returned to find UQ had acquired a secondhand Cray [supercomputer] and when it purchased its first new HPC system, I asked to join the team to look after it and its clients,” said Martin. “I remained in the ITS HPC team until RCC was formed.”
“Martin is the classic ‘quiet achiever,’” said RCC Director Professor David Abramson. “He has made huge contributions to RCC and UQ over the years, and we will miss both him and his expertise immensely.”
RCC farewells Martin and wishes him all the best in his retirement.