Ryan Wright

Advanced Scientific Computing Team Lead

Ryan Wright is the leader for the Advanced Scientific Computing team at EMSL, the primary system administrator responsible for the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL)’s long-term scientific data archive. Wright is also a level 2 technical oversight representative for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the United States Department of Energy (DOE).

In these roles, Wright oversees the planning, procurement, installation and operation of high-performance computing systems, data storage systems and related infrastructure. Wright is responsible for stewarding and safeguarding EMSL and DOE capital investments, mitigating risks to staff, vendors, PNNL and DOE throughout procurement, and managing the allocation of physical floor space, power and cooling within the computing laboratory. Additionally, Wright ensures the implementation of best practices in data center operations and the safety and security of staff and visitors.

Wright joined EMSL in January 2002 to assist with the development of a cutting-edge, multi-terabyte storage system for long term data archiving. He has since led several iterations of archive operations and upgrades. EMSL's fifth-generation archive, "Aurora," was first installed in fiscal year 2010 and has undergone continuous enhancements. Aurora, a hierarchical storage management system running High-Performance Storage System (HPSS), now boasts a raw storage capacity of 90 petabytes (as of 2025).

Before his work at EMSL, Wright managed web development processes for ConAgra Food Service Lamb-Weston’s corporate offices in Kennewick, Wash, and Boise, Idaho. Wright also administered information technology (IT) investments and performed process control work and other general IT tasks at their Richland Research and Development laboratory and adjacent food processing plant.