ARC is excited to be holding its annual Summer School between 7 July - 11 July 2025. A full list of available sessions can be viewed here. Below is the list of instructors who will be teaching this year.
Ben Lai
Ben is a Systems Analyst with the Advanced Research Computing team. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia. Ben has over a decade of IT experience at UBC supporting various departments such as the Faculty of Applied Science and the Museum of Anthropology.
Ben will be teaching the “Introduction to Globus” session on July 10th.
Eugene Barsky
Eugene curates data at UBC, supporting researchers from data planning to preservation. He contributes to Lunaris, collaborates with the Digital Research Alliance of Canada and OpenAIRE, and has led the national Geodisy project. An adjunct professor at UBC iSchool, he has been teaching data management for the last ten years. Eugene has published over 30 peer-reviewed papers, presented at 70+ conferences, and earned awards from CARL, ASEE, and SLA.
Eugene will be teaching the “Introduction to Research Data Management” session on July 8th.
Jacob Boschee
Jacob Boschee is a Senior Systems Analyst in ARC. He received his PhD in Physics at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. He has supported researchers both during his graduate student term and years at ARC with preparing workflows for HPC systems. Currently he is supporting researchers with migrating workflows to containers and making software accessible across a variety of HPC systems.
Jacob will be teaching the “Introduction to Bash Command Line Interface” session on July 7 and the “ARC OnDemand” session on July 10. He will also be co-hosting the Ask Me Anything session on July 11.
Jayson To
Jayson is the Manager of Research Innovation, Solutions & Engagement at UBC Advanced Research Computing, overseeing a dedicated team of technical and specialists who provide software solutions, training, consultation, and outreach. Jayson has a diverse background, with a double major in accounting and marketing from Simon Fraser University and over 20 years of technology experience. The majority of this time has been with the Faculty of Medicine at UBC, where he held various roles from support, systems administration, technical leadership, and service management. He particularly enjoyed his time leading a technical team that supported the critical infrastructure for MRI, PET (nuclear medicine), and various labs in the Centre for Brain Health.
Jayson will be co-hosting the Ask Me Anything session on July 11th.
Jessica Galo
Jessica Galo is a Sensitive Research Security Specialist with the UBC Advanced Research Computing (ARC). She has extensive experience facilitating clinical and administrative data and providing consultation to researchers across Canada to ensure that their projects meet privacy, data transfer, and governing body policy requirements. Jessica completed the Information Access and Protection of Privacy Certificate Program at the University of Alberta and holds a Canadian Institute of Access and Privacy Professionals (CIAPP) - professional designation.
Jessica will be co-hosting the Ask Me Anything session on July 11th.
Luc Letarte
Luc Letarte is a Sensitive Research Specialist with UBC Advanced Research Computing, where he brings his expertise in safeguarding digital environments. With a passion for privacy and security, Luc holds the credentials of Certified Information Privacy Professional (IAPP) and Certified in Cybersecurity (ISC2), and is an active member of the cybersecurity community. Since joining UBC, he has been involved with the local and national community to implement, support and promote good cybersecurity, privacy and risk management practices. Luc's diverse background spans both the public and private sectors, providing him with a holistic view of the challenges and opportunities in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
Michael Tang
Michael Tang is the ARC Cloud Analyst for Advanced Research Computing at UBC. He is also a member of the Digital Research Alliance of Canada’s Cloud National Team and the Arbutus Cloud Operations National Team. Michael has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computing Engineering from the University of British Columbia. In his roles, Michael manages many of the ARC’s cloud pilots and supports Canadian researchers in the community and public cloud.
Michael will be teaching the “Introduction to Globus” session on July 10 and the “Introduction to the Digital Research Alliance of Canada” session on July 11. He will also be co-hosting the Ask Me Anything session on July 11.
Roman Baranowski
Roman Baranowski has been involved in HPC since 1991 and has been working as the UBC Site Lead for Compute Canada/WestGrid since 2003. In addition, Roman is a member of the Compute Canada Storage National Team and serves on the National Team: Simon Fraser University. His background is in Theoretical and Computational Physics and Chemistry with a PhD from Memorial University in St. John's, Newfoundland.
Roman will be teaching the “Introduction to High-Performance Computing and Data Storage” session on July 7th and co-hosting the Ask Me Anything session on July 11th.
Sarah Clarke (ACENET)
Sarah is a Digital Training Specialist with ACENET, based in Nova Scotia, and joined the organization in 2023. She has a range of teaching experience and held regular teaching assistant positions. Passionate about scientific literacy, Sarah has developed teaching materials and taught programming and robotics to youth in St. John's. She has also led professional development workshops for teachers, focusing on digital skills. For her MSc in Computational Chemistry, she focused on interfacing crystal structure prediction methods.
Sarah will be teaching the “Introduction to Python – Part 1” session on July 8th.
Scott Baker
Scott Baker manages the Research Cybersecurity and Compliance team at UBC Advanced Research Computing and is a member of the program leadership committee for Privacy & Information Security Management at UBC. He also chairs the governance and policy working group of the National Security Council of the Digital Research Alliance of Canada.
Scott will be teaching the “Cybersecurity Hygiene/Data Classification/Research Guide to the Updated UBC Encryption Standard” session on July 9th and co-hosting the Ask Me Anything session on July 11th.
Tannia Chevez (ACENET)
Tannia Chevez is a Digital Training Specialist with ACENET, with a background in Computational Chemistry, Computer Science, and Mathematics. She has contributed to a range of projects, including developing algorithms for an animal sound repository, designing chemical composite films, and working in data analysis, nanoparticle detection, and software development. Tannia has held a variety of teaching and instructional roles with organizations such as Brilliant Labs, the Association for New Canadians, and ACENET, where she has supported learners from diverse backgrounds. At ACENET, she develops and delivers training in advanced computing and digital skills, supports participants, and helps identify training needs and advance strategic skill development in academia and industry.
Tannia will be teaching the “Introduction to Python Part 2” session on July 9th.
Venkat Mahadevan
Venkat Mahadevan is the Cloud Architect at UBC ARC. He is a member of the Digital Research Alliance of Canada cloud national team where he supports the community cloud infrastructure used by researchers across Canada. In addition, he also implements solutions to support workloads on various commercial clouds such as Azure and AWS. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Computer Science. Venkat is also a recipient of two UBC awards: the 2022 President’s Staff Award for Creativity and Innovation, and the 2022 VPRI Staff Award for Leadership.
Venkat will be teaching the “Introduction to Digital Research Alliance of Canada” on July 11th, and co-hosting the Ask Me Anything session on July 11th.