Honoring Excellence: E3SM 2025 All-Hands Meeting Awards Celebrate Unsung Heroes and Transformational Leadership
Every year, the E3SM project takes a moment to recognize team members whose exceptional contributions power the critical, yet often less visible, aspects of E3SM model development. These efforts are foundational to the project’s success, benefiting every user of the E3SM model—even though they may not lead to publications or traditional laboratory recognition.
At the 2025 All-Hands Meeting, the E3SM Executive Committee, drawing from nominations submitted by Council members, selected two outstanding awardees: Maciej Waruszewski and Noel Keen. This year’s celebration also featured a special moment as the project honored Dr. Xujing Davis, E3SM’s outgoing Program Manager, with the inaugural Excellence in Management Award.
Maciej Waruszewski: OMEGA Group Pillar
In the absence of Maciej Waruszewski, Charli Koven accepts the award for Maciej. From left: Peter Caldwell, Mark Taylor, Renata McCoy, Charlie Koven, Gary Geerneart, Ruby Leung, Xujing Davis.
Since the inception of the OMEGA group, Maciej Waruszewski has stood out as a driving force behind the group’s development efforts. Renowned for his exceptional C++ skills and his ability to clearly explain complex coding concepts, Maciej has played a pivotal role in designing OMEGA and contributing immense amounts of clean, high-performance code. He is recognized not only for his technical expertise but also for his generosity in mentoring and training domain scientists throughout the group. As the team’s go-to C++ expert and a steadfast collaborator, Maciej’s work and spirit have made him one of OMEGA’s most valuable members.
Citation:
For his exceptional technical expertise, leadership in C++ development, and outstanding commitment to mentoring and supporting the OMEGA group.
Noel Keen: EAMxx Champion
Noel Keen receives Outstanding Achievement award at 2025 All-Hands Meeting. From left: Peter Caldwell, Mark Taylor, Renata McCoy, Noel Keen, Gary Geerneart, Ruby Leung, Xujing Davis.
Noel Keen is honored for his numerous achievements supporting the EAMxx effort. Noel’s critical role in testing and optimizing EAMxx at both standard and high resolutions on flagship computing systems has directly improved model performance and reliability. His keen eye for identifying bugs and issues—often before they become widespread—has enabled the EAMxx team to address concerns quickly, preventing potential disruptions and ensuring project continuity. Noel’s proactive approach and technical skill have been instrumental in advancing E3SM’s modeling capabilities.
Citation:
For his exceptional dedication to advancing E3SM, outstanding skill in testing and optimizing model performance, and proactive identification of critical issues that have safeguarded project success.
Dr. Xujing Davis: Excellence in Management Award
Dr. Xujing Davis receives the Excellence in Management Award from Peter Caldwell at the E3SM 2025 All-Hands Meeting, in recognition of her visionary guidance.
Excellence in Management Award: Crystal globe honoring Dr. Xujing Davis’s outstanding leadership and dedication to E3SM.
This meeting was also marked by a heartfelt farewell to Dr. Xujing Davis, who transitioned to a new role as SciDAC Program Manager at the DOE’s Office of Science. In recognition of her transformational leadership, vision, and unwavering support, Dr. Davis was presented with a crystal globe and the Excellence in Management Award by Peter Caldwell, E3SM’s Principal Investigator, on behalf of the Executive Committee and the entire project team.
Dr. Davis’s tenure as Program Manager has been nothing short of remarkable. She guided E3SM to historic milestones, including breakthrough exascale simulations and the successful development and release of multiple model versions. Her dedication to community building, strategic vision, and tireless advocacy for resources and support have shaped E3SM into a world-leading earth system modeling project. The project’s deep respect and affection for Dr. Davis were evident as the team gathered to honor her legacy and wish her success in her new adventure.
Award Inscription:
Excellence in Management Award, presented to Xujing Davis. For your exceptional guidance and unwavering commitment to E3SM.
These awards highlight the spirit of collaboration, technical excellence, and selfless dedication that drive E3SM forward. Congratulations to Maciej Waruszewski, Noel Keen, and Dr. Xujing Davis for their invaluable contributions—and thank you to all team members who work behind the scenes to make E3SM a world-class scientific resource.
