GOVERNMENT
Supercomputer to help grow Indiana's economy
One of the fastest supercomputers in the United States is now being used to support Indiana's economic growth. The new supercomputer, co-managed by Purdue and Indiana universities, puts 20 TeraFLOPS of computational capability in the hands of Indiana businesses looking to spin-out technology, increase research grant competitiveness and boost Indiana's growing life sciences community. 
"IBM's continued support of Indiana's economy is creating new opportunities for Hoosiers across the state and helping transform ideas into new technology," said Governor Mitch Daniels. Located at IU in Bloomington, the new computer, which is capable of 20 trillion mathematical operations per second, is part of the commitment by IBM and its partners to bring new jobs and new investment to Indiana following their selection to modernize the computer services of the state's Family and Social Services Administration. "As states re-equip themselves for global competition in the new century, supercomputers will prove to be valuable resources," said Dave Turek, vice president of deep computing for IBM. "Indiana is among a leading group of states harnessing the power of these machines -- once used solely for academic research -- for commercial purposes and development of new industries." While the center is aimed at economic development, leaders also expect university researchers developing transferable technology will harness the system's computing power. "I am very excited about this partnership with IU, the state and IBM," said Gerry McCartney, Purdue's vice president for information technology and chief information officer. "Users from both Purdue and IU campuses, from industry located in the state, and the state government will have access to this high-performance computing resource, and together we will push on new boundaries of discovery. Here, researchers in nanotechnology, climate modeling, and other important scientific communities will be able to use these resources to solve new problems in science and engineering." A team of officials from both universities and the IEDC will work to target businesses with significant operations in the state that could use the system to develop new products, improve efficiency or enhance profitability. The team will review requests for use of the new system from Indiana businesses. "This new IBM supercomputer is the same size as IU's original Big Red, and it can work separately for economic development or be combined for very large computational problems," said Brad Wheeler, IU vice president for information technology. "The IT and life sciences sectors of the Indiana economy will benefit from access to these high performance computing resources." Purdue researchers and staff at the university's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing have already used the computer to conduct research in nano-electronics, molecular dynamics for material science; jet engine models, including fluid dynamics; modeling arterial blood flow in the human body; climate modeling codes; and computational chemistry. IBM's introduction of the new supercomputer comes four months after the global computer company announced its plans to site a new worldwide product and application development center at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis-- the first such IBM facility on a college campus. In addition, IBM and its partners have committed to create 1,000 new jobs in the state following their selection to modernize the computer services of the Family and Social Services Administration.
"IBM's continued support of Indiana's economy is creating new opportunities for Hoosiers across the state and helping transform ideas into new technology," said Governor Mitch Daniels. Located at IU in Bloomington, the new computer, which is capable of 20 trillion mathematical operations per second, is part of the commitment by IBM and its partners to bring new jobs and new investment to Indiana following their selection to modernize the computer services of the state's Family and Social Services Administration. "As states re-equip themselves for global competition in the new century, supercomputers will prove to be valuable resources," said Dave Turek, vice president of deep computing for IBM. "Indiana is among a leading group of states harnessing the power of these machines -- once used solely for academic research -- for commercial purposes and development of new industries." While the center is aimed at economic development, leaders also expect university researchers developing transferable technology will harness the system's computing power. "I am very excited about this partnership with IU, the state and IBM," said Gerry McCartney, Purdue's vice president for information technology and chief information officer. "Users from both Purdue and IU campuses, from industry located in the state, and the state government will have access to this high-performance computing resource, and together we will push on new boundaries of discovery. Here, researchers in nanotechnology, climate modeling, and other important scientific communities will be able to use these resources to solve new problems in science and engineering." A team of officials from both universities and the IEDC will work to target businesses with significant operations in the state that could use the system to develop new products, improve efficiency or enhance profitability. The team will review requests for use of the new system from Indiana businesses. "This new IBM supercomputer is the same size as IU's original Big Red, and it can work separately for economic development or be combined for very large computational problems," said Brad Wheeler, IU vice president for information technology. "The IT and life sciences sectors of the Indiana economy will benefit from access to these high performance computing resources." Purdue researchers and staff at the university's Rosen Center for Advanced Computing have already used the computer to conduct research in nano-electronics, molecular dynamics for material science; jet engine models, including fluid dynamics; modeling arterial blood flow in the human body; climate modeling codes; and computational chemistry. IBM's introduction of the new supercomputer comes four months after the global computer company announced its plans to site a new worldwide product and application development center at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis-- the first such IBM facility on a college campus. In addition, IBM and its partners have committed to create 1,000 new jobs in the state following their selection to modernize the computer services of the Family and Social Services Administration.