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Women's History Month, 2017: Jackie Scoggins

March 24, 2017

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Jackie Scoggins

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Jacqueline (Jackie) Scoggins is the teamwork lead for operations at NERSC. She started at NERSC in 1996 in the Computational Systems Group as a system analyst/administrator. She moved to Berkeley Lab’s IT Division to work in the High Performance Computing Group and was a system analyst for several lab departments, and rejoined NERSC in 2015. She has a bachelor of science in computing science with a minor in mathematics from California State University, Hayward.

What drew you to working at NERSC?
Location, a setting similar to my work at NASA Ames, the science and the people.

What are some of the challenges you have faced being a woman in what has traditionally been a male-dominated field?
Not being heard and feeling like your opinion doesn't matter.

What lessons have you learned along the way that you would share with other women thinking about working in this field, or in a science/technology/engineering position in general?
Don't let anyone stand in your way or prevent you from achieving any goal you set forth. Don't be intimidated by the environment you are placed in when you are the only woman in your group. Make your presence matter and bring others alongside.

What are some of your proudest achievements?
Community outreach - being a positive role model to others in the community to let them know they can work here at the lab. Working for a number of departments and providing them the technical support needed for them to achieve scientific discoveries to better this world.

What is your favorite thing about working at NERSC?
This is a learning environment and the amount of knowledge within this division is great. Having some of the smartest engineers to work with is an honor and a privilege.

Do you have a particular anecdote/story you'd like to share?
Not having any knowledge of what computer science was about in 1982 I decided to take my chance in this field. It has been one of the best decisions I've made in my entire life, outside of my family. My 25+ years of working in this field has been very rewarding. I am glad NERSC gave me the opportunity to work here in 1996, and I have been here for 20 years now. My experience has been in systems most definitely, but also in working with and supporting so many wonderful people.


About Computing Sciences at Berkeley Lab

High performance computing plays a critical role in scientific discovery. Researchers increasingly rely on advances in computer science, mathematics, computational science, data science, and large-scale computing and networking to increase our understanding of ourselves, our planet, and our universe. Berkeley Lab’s Computing Sciences Area researches, develops, and deploys new foundations, tools, and technologies to meet these needs and to advance research across a broad range of scientific disciplines.