ITTC Project

MRI: Acquisition of an Advanced Computational Infrastructure for Modeling Biological Systems

Project Award Date: 08-01-2008

Description

Models that use parallel high-performance computing are applied increasingly to understand and project the performance of biological systems at microscopic and macroscopic scales. At KU, numerous computational projects in the biologically-related sciences are pioneering their disciplines through computational modeling. Local resources are not sufficient to meet these computational challenges. ITTC will acquire a 640-processor parallel cluster for KU scientists to conduct modeling of biological systems. The shared resource will encourage interaction on interdisciplinary projects and funding, thereby furthering the impact of the KU computational biology community. The cluster is a cost-effective way to amortize overheads for multiple groups by centralizing the supporting infrastructure and staff with expertise in managing a scientific and technical compute facility focused on biologically-related sciences.

ITTC researchers will utilize existing physical infrastructure, staff, and management systems established for an existing 384-processor cluster. The equipment will support the career development of junior faculty, enhance research opportunities for graduate students, increase opportunities for students to gain experience in parallel computing as part of course work, and establish a potential for a broader high-performance parallel computing base within KU and the surrounding area.

Investigators

Faculty Investigator(s): Joseph Evans (PI), Gerald Lushington

Project Sponsors

Primary Sponsor(s): National Science Foundation