Valerie Taylor (computer scientist)
A pioneering computer scientist who bridges the gap between raw computational power and real-world efficiency, focusing on performance and energy use in massive systems.
Born 1963 (age 63)·American computer scientist·Birthday: May 24·Baby Boomers
Biography
Valerie Taylor's career in high-performance computing is driven by a fundamental question: how do we make the world's most powerful machines work smarter, not just harder? As a researcher and leader at Argonne National Laboratory, she has focused on performance modeling and analysis, creating tools like the Prophesy system to predict how complex scientific applications will behave on different supercomputing architectures. Her work extends into the critical area of power consumption, seeking ways to reduce the massive energy footprint of these computational behemoths. Beyond her technical contributions, Taylor is a forceful advocate for diversity in computing, having served as CEO of the Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in IT. Her leadership style combines deep technical insight with a commitment to building a more inclusive field, ensuring the next generation of supercomputers is built by a broader range of minds.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Valerie was born in 1963, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Valerie Was Born
The biggest hits of 1963
#1 Movie
Cleopatra
Best Picture
Tom Jones
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
Valerie's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1963Born
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1968Started school
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1976Became a teenager
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Could drive
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1981Could vote
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Turned 21
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1993Turned 30
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2003Turned 40
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 50
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2023Turned 60
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
2026Age 63 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the CEO of the Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in Information Technology (CMD-IT).
- Led the development of the 'Prophesy' database and toolkit for performance analysis and prediction of parallel computing applications.
- Held the position of Director of the Mathematics and Computer Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory.
- Elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for contributions to performance analysis and parallel computing.
Did You Know?
She earned her B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a member of the track team.
She was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley.
She has served on the Board of Directors of the Computing Research Association (CRA).
Her research has been supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.
“We must measure performance to understand the science, not just the hardware.”
