Edward Seidel has been fascinated by space exploration since he was an 8-year-old Star Trek fan, a passion that he retained as a young man. But as time went by, his attention turned from space travel to computational astrophysics. See CV

He began his career studying mathematics and physics at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, before going on to earn a PhD in relativistic astrophysics at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Seidel followed this up with postdoctoral positions at Washington University in St Louis and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, before computer guru Larry Smarr hired him as a research scientist for the latter institution's National Center for Supercomputing Applications. The move turned out to be one of the most important of Seidel's career. Smarr was at the vanguard of computational astrophysics research, and showed Seidel the importance of supercomputing networks.

After seven years in Illinois, Seidel moved to Germany to help set up the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics, which was founded in 1995 as part of the eastward expansion of the Max Planck Society started after Germany's reunification in 1990. Former colleague Bernard Schutz, now head of the institute's department of astrophysical relativity, lauds not only Seidel's work on black holes, but also his help in advancing communications among European astrophysicists as co-founder of the EU Astrophysics Network.

In 2003, Seidel returned to the United States to become director of the newly established Center for Computation and Technology at Louisiana State University. There, he advanced the use of vast computer networks for studies of complex natural phenomena such as black holes. But what he enjoyed most was the interdisciplinary research, seeing the potential of cyberinfrastructure to reach far beyond astrophysics.

In Seidel's new position at the National Science Foundation's Office of Cyberinfrastructure, he will deal with similar issues but on a more international scale. He will be responsible for dispensing money to scientists for computer facilities. “I will get the chance to work with investigators from many scientific fields to develop cyberinfrastructure,” says Seidel. “The position requires the ability to listen carefully to everyone in the community.” This seems like the perfect vocation for Seidel, says Schutz, who adds: “He respects everyone, from principal investigators right down to the youngest graduate student.”