PNNL

Ryan Wright is the Chief Data Officer for the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) and a level 2 technical oversight representative for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

In these roles, Ryan is responsible for continuous development, implementation and operations of EMSL's overall digital infrastructure vision through leadership and line management of a group of experts, including IT and software engineers, data architects, data managers, computer scientists, and cyber security professionals. He has accountability for computing operations; hardware and software acquisitions; networking; data architecture; workflow and archiving decisions; software development; and ensuring that EMSL's data environment is capable of capturing, securing, and delivering AI-ready FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data at scale.

Ryan serves as a key member of the EMSL leadership team working closely and in constant partnership with EMSL Science Area leads, the Chief Operating Officer, and the Chief Science Officer.

Ryan 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. A hierarchical storage management system running High-Performance Storage System (HPSS), Aurora now boasts a raw storage capacity of 100 petabytes (as of 2026).

Ryan served as a team lead from 2020 through 2026, overseeing the planning, procurement, installation and operation of high-performance computing systems, data storage systems, and related infrastructure. He also served as CSM of EMSL's Computing Laboratory for 20 years, responsible for allocations of physical floor space, power and cooling, implementation of best practices in data center operations and the safety and security of staff and visitors.

Before his work at EMSL, Ryan managed web development processes for ConAgra Food Service Lamb-Weston's corporate offices in Kennewick, WA, and Boise, ID. He 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.

Research Interests

• Petascale high-performance computing (HPC)
• Petascale data management, processing workflows, and long-term data archival
• Management of HPC data center operations
• Innovative technologies for data storage and HPC power and cooling
• Artificial intelligence

• BS in information technology, University of Phoenix, 2004  

• Chairman, Technology Advisory Committee, Kennewick School District (2013–2023)