Saginaw Valley State University and IP3 are creating the Center for High Performance Computing and Informatics to be located on the SVSU campus in Michigan. This will be a joint venture between SVSU and IP3, a market research and development firm in Saginaw that focuses on information assurance and information security. IP3 has pledged to provide $1 million in equipment to begin the Center. The Center will be used to support research in areas of computer security, such as identity theft and data privacy, as well as the emerging field of health informatics, using computers and distributed databases to assist doctors in making informed diagnoses of diseases. IP3 has committed to provide up to $250,000 in direct financial support for research by SVSU students and faculty. “This facility will provide our faculty and students with the opportunity to be leaders in the study of issues at the forefront of computing applications in security and medicine. These are two of the most important emerging new areas for the future of computer science,” said Ronald R. Williams, dean of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology at SVSU. “This center is one of the few labs of its kind in the nation and certainly will be the only facility of this character in mid-Michigan,” said Ken Kousky, president and CEO of IP3. “We see this partnership as a critical means to meet the needs of industry through equipping students–whether in nursing, education, business or engineering–with a solid foundation in information assurance, data privacy and computer security.” The Center for High Performance Computing and Informatics is expected to begin operations in January 2005. It will be located in the Herbert Dow Doan Science Building on the SVSU campus. For more information on IP3, visit www.ip3security.com.