Dr Paul McIntosh

Dr Paul McIntosh is a Senior High Performance Computing Consultant at Monash University and is the technical lead for the Multi-modal Australian ScienceS Imaging and Visualisation Environment (MASSIVE). MASSIVE is a specialised supercomputer operated under a partnership between Monash University, Australian Synchrotron and CSIRO. MASSIVE processes, in many cases in real-time, data directly from some of the most advanced scientific instruments in Australia. Instruments such as the most powerful biological electron microscope and the Australian Synchrotron beamlines.

Paul has spent the past 25+ years working with large complex real-time distributed computing systems, ranging from digital telephone exchanges, networked fire protection systems, the Collins class submarine combat system and, for the past 5 years, specialised high performance computing systems. His particular interest is in the application of visualisation techniques to software and systems engineering, and has completed a PhD in the application of 3D visualisation to systems modelling.

In addition to enabling hundreds of scientists to achieve research outcomes only possible through high performance computing, he has also had a lot of fun with the technology himself. At home Paul has applied advanced computing to his Vespa scooter hobby. He has built and programmed a GPS for it, long before every phone had a GPS. He has 3D scanned it; computer modelled the air flow at 100mph+; visualised it in a (CAVE2) virtual reality environment; built a computer controlled milling machine for making bits for it and raced it on the salt flats of Lake Gairdner, South Australia.