Kudakwashe Dandajena is the Technical and Operations Manager for the Zimbabwe Center for High Performance Computing (ZCHPC) and is responsible for all the technical and operational activities of the institution. He has worked as a lead technical expert from the start of the Project working alongside its director to develop specifications, liaise with vendors, install systems, and oversee day-to-day operations. He graduated with honors from Midlands State University in Zimbabwe with a bachelor of science degree in computer science (CS) and is currently pursuing a CS masters degree at National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe.

ZCHPC dedication in 2012

I’m passionate about HPC, and committed to developing the technical resources and workforce that can transform socioeconomic conditions in Zimbabwe and the broader SADC region.”

 

Thanks to Kudakwashe’s outreach efforts, ZCHPC stakeholders understand how HPC will accelerate scientific advances in health, climate, agriculture, education, poverty, and energy. The ZCHPC cluster was launched in February, 2015 and the systems are already being used for genomics research and weather forecasting.

Under Kudakwashe’s technical and operational leadership, ZCHPC has embarked on a number of national and regional programs, including:

1. Public and private-sector capacity building, user needs identification and solutions deployment.

2. Outreach efforts designed to inform and garner support from academic, industry and government stakeholders.

3. Educating the research community about the effective use of HPC technologies and the importance of partnering with key organizations (funding, support, etc.).

4. Hiring and training personnel in the effective utilization and optimization of HPC systems.