Dear Volunteers,

I have been part of the technical team supporting World Community Grid for the past 10 years. The project has been exciting, rewarding, challenging, exhausting but overall an amazing experience to be part of. A great part of this experience has been the interaction with you, the volunteers, throughout the years. However, as we all move through life, the time comes to move on to new opportunities and challenges. After a lot of hard thinking and deliberating, and after avoiding making a decision for a few years, I have taken an opportunity outside of IBM and my role on World Community Grid will move onto someone new. I want to personally thank each and every one of you for your interest and support for World Community Grid throughout the years and for always demanding more from us. Without your commitment, support, and ongoing expectation of more from World Community Grid, the program would not be the success that it is today. It has been a fantastic experience.

I started working on World Community Grid during June of 2004. I was thrilled at the opportunity to work on the project because I had been a participant at Seti@Home and grid.org. I loved the concept and opportunity to help advance science. Since I am in the consulting arm of IBM, I expected to be on the project for a few months to a year at most. Instead, I was lucky enough to get to work on World Community Grid for almost 10 years. It has been the high point of my career so far and I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to work on this project and work with the researchers, other IBMers involved in the project and with the volunteer community. Together we have done some amazing work and contributed to the efforts of many different research projects.

World Community Grid is well positioned for the next decade. Although there are certainly areas for growth and improvement, the research pipeline is strong, the core support team is talented, and the commitment from IBM for the program remains strong. I expect great things in the coming years for the program.

I will remain a part of the community – but as a volunteer now instead of as part of the core technical team. I have always used my 'knreed' id in my official capacity but have done the majority of my personal contribution under the user name 'The Aspens'. I will be retiring the 'knreed' account and continuing forward as 'The Aspens'. I look forward to continuing to watch the growth of the community and the advancement of the science in the coming years.

Thank you for your support and contribution throughout the years.

- Kevin Reed