IU to lead nationwide research network to expand supercomputer capabilities
A group of information technology researchers at Indiana University has been chosen by the National Science Foundation to lead a four-year, $15-million project to develop new software to link together the supercomputers of tomorrow and enable new approaches to scientific research for problems of massive scale. $10.1 million will come from the NSF, with project partners providing the balance.
Photo by Chris Meyer
Bloomington's Big Red supercomputer, seen here standing next to IU President Michael A. McRobbie, can facilitate scientific research by allowing users to run complex simulations or otherwise computationally intensive operations on their raw data
The grant will enable construction of an experimental supercomputing network to be called FutureGrid, which will be made of almost 1,400 advanced computer processing units at Bloomington and five other locations in the United States.
"This is a major achievement for Indiana University because this project is so vitally important to the future of scientific research at all institutions of higher learning," said Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie. "The ultimate goal of this project is to create the next generation of investigative tools for scientific researchers whose computational needs often exceed the capabilities of a single institution or network. I am grateful to the National Science Foundation for their confidence in this research team."
IU, with partners among the best computer scientists and supercomputer centers across the U.S., won the grant in a competition that pitted it against several of the nation's leading information-technology research institutions.
The project's ultimate goal is to make it easier for scientists to conduct research projects that require enormous data processing capabilities, such as complex modeling of climate systems or analyzing and comparing DNA segments and complex organic molecules.
McRobbie said a major reason IU was able to successfully compete for this prized research grant has been the state's investments in I-Light. In 1999, the General Assembly created the high-speed, I-Light computer network for research and education. It later expanded it across the state. Similarly, the sustained support of the Lilly Endowment for expanding IU's information technology infrastructure and hiring key academic staff has been invaluable. Since 1999, the endowment has invested some $57 million for research and equipment in information technology.
"Together, I-Light, the Lilly Endowment, and the university's consistent strategy created the essential conditions for this $15-million IT research project to be led in Indiana," McRobbie said.
"I am grateful for the work of the Lilly Endowment, which is enabling IU and the state to move into the forefront of research for technology and the life sciences," McRobbie added.
Some of the NSF grant money will be used to expand supercomputers at IU, which will be housed in the new concrete-hardened Data Center at 10th Street and the Ind. 45/46 Bypass in Bloomington alongside the "Big Red" supercomputer.
This article first appeared Sept. 10, 2009.
