Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Tribute to Rich Brueckner, 1962-2020

by Dan Olds



This is a tough blog to write for this RadioFreeHPC episode.

This is the episode where we say a final goodbye to our co-founder and comrade in arms Rich Brueckner. Rich passed away suddenly last week leaving us shocked and shaken. The whole genesis of RFHPC came out of Rich and I sitting around the press area of GTC 2012 and talking about what we could do to bring a little more life into the HPC community. We batted around several ideas but finally came up with the idea of a long-form podcast that would tackle every topic in tech – as long as it was big and fast. With that idea in mind, we recruited Henry Newman, started production, and the rest is history as they say.

We added Shahin Khan to our host lineup to add more technical heft and to give us increased flexibility to cover our travel schedules. But after nearly six years, Rich’s ultra-busy schedule didn’t allow him to continue working with us on RFHPC, but he remained a friend of the show, promoting it on his InsideHPC site. Our latest addition to our roster is rookie host Jessie Lanum, an outstanding university student who has added enthusiasm and a youthful viewpoint to our show.

In this episode, we pay tribute to Rich, sharing our own thoughts about him - plus the thoughts and memories from HPC community members. There are several funny stories in here, along with heartfelt  acknowledgement of the vital role Rich played in our HPC community. So please give a listen and share your thoughts and stories.

I’d also like to call your attention to the following links. These are shows that either feature Rich prominently or have us talking about Rich in depth. They really show his sense of humor, how highly we regarded him and his commitment to HPC. Take a look or listen, I think you’ll enjoy them….



RF-HPC Episode 18-1: This is our first holiday episode. In this show, Henry and I discuss the perfect Christmas gifts for Rich and make fun of his Apple addiction. Check out the videos on these picks, they’re funnier than the audio version.

RF-HPC Episode 18-2:  In this one, Rich and Dan talk about the perfect Christmas gifts for Henry. The picture of Henry as a Tibetan monk is one of Rich’s all-time favorites.

RF-HPC Episode 18-3:  To finish out this series, Rich and Henry talk about what they’d give me for Christmas.

Rich Brueckner


RF-HPC Episode 218:  A Hard Look at Santa’s Big Data Challenges

RF-HPC Episode 214:  Rich & Dan report on the CHPC South African conference, plus the CHPC cluster competition too!

Thank you for all the memories and all of your hard work, Rich. You did good for a lot of people.

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