GOVERNMENT

The Center for Applied High Performance Computing (CAHPC) based at Howard University in Washington, DC left an impression at this years Supercomputing 2004 conference held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The CAHPC showcased a number of research projects related to high performance computing and Cyber-infrastructure. But MammoData, a web accessible grid tool for collaborative breast cancer diagnosis, made an immediate impression to spectators, due in part, to a flashy web-accessible user interface. A far cry from a typical hum-drum research tool interface, MammoData’s interface was created in Macromedia Flash, the same technology that drives many online interactive games (and length web intros), so the interface response is instantaneous. With the tool, doctors, researchers, and educators have the ability to share cases, make annotations, file a diagnosis, request consults, or request assistance from expert systems, and request similar cases. The system is built on top of the Globus GT3 and utilizes SDSC’s SRB for collections-based storage. “Up until now much of our cancer research under this project has been focused on the component technologies (scanning, detection, segmentation, methods of annotation) and to building the database hold hundreds of detailed cases of African American Women.” explained Mohamed Chouikha, the CAHPC Director, and Chair of the Howard University’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. “But now we are committed to assembling our best technologies into a Federated system that can actually benefit someone. There are plenty of new problems to solve once you start building things” Ultimately those problems will include HIPAA regulations, which restrict how patient data can be handled. Currently the special demo version of the system that was displayed contains only publicly available cases without the detailed patient data necessary to make use of much of the system’s capabilities. Other Events CAHPC researcher not busy showcasing technologies and running the colorful CAHPC booth, took time to participate in the Minority Serving Institution Consortium, Department of Defense PET meetings, and even a vendor party or two. Background: The CAHPC is an applications-focused University/Industry partnership founded by Howard University and QuaTeams, Inc, a small HubZone-certified small business. The mission of the center is to advance the state of the art in real applications of High Performance Computing by fostering Ethnically Diverse, Multi-disciplinary collaborations between Research, Education, and Industry. The main focus areas are Homeland Security and Defense, Bio-informatics and Bio-engineering, and Education and Training.