|
|
|
|
|
Sun Microsystems establishes Center of Excellence and endows fellowship at IU
Feb. 23, 2000
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ:SUNW) and Indiana University have announced a Center of Excellence at IU that will offer researchers and students new, more powerful resources and opportunities in the areas of high performance computing, networking and storage, data mining and visualization.
The announcement was made today (Feb. 23) by Scott McNealy, Sun chairman and chief executive officer, during a keynote address at the annual Midwest Business Conference sponsored by IU's Kelley School of Business.
"Indiana University's leadership in information technology and IT research is highly respected in both the academic world and the business communities," said McNealy. "With this announcement, Sun commits itself to an ongoing, highly integrated relationship with IU that will have enormous payoffs for students, researchers and others who benefit from their efforts."
As part of the Center of Excellence, IU will acquire a Sun Enterprise™ 10000 server, popularly known as the Starfire™, which will be a major new addition to the university's high performance computing facilities. The Sun Enterprise 10000 server is one of the world's leading servers and, with 64 processors and 64 GB of memory, IU's Sun Enterprise 10000 server will have a peak processing capacity of 51.2 GFLOPS (one billion floating operations per second, a benchmark for measuring the speed of microprocessors).
The IU system is expected to appear on the list of the 500 largest supercomputers in the world when that list is revised in June.
At IU, this server will be used in a variety of disciplines, including the rendering of graphics and virtual reality images, as well as for research in the fields of astronomy, chemistry, engineering, physics and computer science. It provides a substantial expansion of IU's capability for shared memory supercomputing, allowing various kinds of computer programs in these areas to run at peak efficiency.
"This server, along with the acquisition of other Sun™ hardware for IU's computer messaging systems, and a commitment to joint research initiatives, launch a significant alliance between Indiana University and Sun Microsystems," said IU President Myles Brand. "Sun's leadership in both technology research and the education community is universally known, and we're excited about this relationship and the opportunities it provides for IU in so many strategic areas."
Sun and IU are finalizing the initial joint research programs at the new Center of Excellence. The first of these are expected to be in high performance computing, especially in the design of Java™ technology extensions for supercomputers and high performance networking and storage using Internet2. Further projects are expected to follow in data mining, visualization and other areas.
In addition to the establishment of the Center of Excellence, Sun's McNealy also announced the funding of a fellowship at IU's Kelley School of Business. The fellowship, in the amount of $25,000 each year for two years, will be awarded to a deserving MBA student. The student will use the money to cover education expenses, including tuition, housing, computer equipment and textbooks.
About Indiana University
Indiana University (http://www.indiana.edu/) is one of the oldest state universities in the Midwest and one of the largest universities in the United States, with more than 100,000 students, faculty and staff on eight campuses. IU is home to a sophisticated and powerful environment for research and academic computing. The university manages the operations centers for Abilene, the backbone network of Internet2; TransPAC, a network connection between the United States and the Asia Pacific region; the Science, Technology and Research Transit Access Point (STAR TAP) in Chicago; and Euro-Link.
About IU's Kelley School of Business
For nearly 80 years, IU's Kelley School of Business has been at the forefront of curriculum innovation. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 4,000 students majoring in various components of management education. Highly regarded among academics and industry, its undergraduate program is ranked among the nation's top 10 by U.S. News & World Report and its MBA program among the top 25 by Business Week. Its MBA program is considered a "favorite" for corporate recruiters looking for finance graduates, general managers, marketing talent, and managers of change in e-business.
Sun in Education
Sun is a leading provider of open network computing solutions to colleges and universities around the world, powering academic, research and high performance computing systems, campus administration, digital libraries and student instruction systems. In addition, Sun is committed to connecting the world's students to the Internet, beginning with primary and secondary schools and extending to all levels of higher education. For information about Sun in Education, visit http://www.sun.com/edu
About Sun Microsystems Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- The Network Is the Computer™ -- has propelled Sun Microsystems Inc. to its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that power the Internet and allow companies worldwide to ".com" their businesses. With $13 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 170 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://www.sun.com
Notes
Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, Sun Enterprise, Starfire, Java, HotJava and The Network Is the Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems Inc. in the United States and other countries.
Netscape Navigator is a trademark or registered trademark of Netscape Communications Corporation.
Press announcements and other information about Sun Microsystems are available on the Internet via the World Wide Web using a tool such as Netscape Navigator™ or Sun's HotJava™ browser. Type http://www.sun.com at the URL prompt.
(George Vlahakis, OCM, 812-855-0846, gvlahaki@indiana.edu or Cory Warren, Burson-Marsteller for Sun Microsystems, 415-591-4009, cory_warren@sfo.bm.com)