MRI: Acquisition of HPC at AU (Expanding Capabilities for Research and Research Training at American University through Shared High-Performance Computing)

American University, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

This award permits American University to acquire a high-performance computing (HPC) system to expand capabilities for research and research training. Acquisition of HPC resources is a crucial step in the implementation of AU's 2008 strategic plan, which calls for campus-wide, coordinated efforts to expand research and graduate education. This shared resource for researchers across the campus will build on AU's strength in the social sciences, while supporting plans to expand programs in the sciences. It will further the productivity of researchers by increasing the available computing speed by a factor of almost 100-fold. The HPC system will support a growing community of researchers who will apply the tools of computational science to understand complex problems in economics, education, statistics, the physical sciences, and computer science. In economics, the researchers will use the proposed HPC system to investigate ways that incorporate all available behavioral information to design regulated markets, to explore the role of information technology in the geography of growth, and to simulate the effect of expanding federal subsidies for child welfare on the health of children. In education, researchers will develop handheld devices that have the potential to revolutionize the education of students with special needs, and they will develop research tools to integrate interdisciplinary methods into the history of education and educational policy. In statistics and the sciences, researchers will use the proposed HPC system to apply the "super learner" algorithm to key problems in epidemiology, to give all scientists the means to leverage volunteer computer networks to solve common problems, to design a new method for creating and probing quantum states of ultracold matter, and to map covarying residues in enzymes for applications ranging from medicine to "green" industrial chemistry. The researchers will address these diverse scientifically and economically important questions using algorithms, modeling, simulation, 3D rendering, and geographic visualization. State-of-of-the art methods in computational science require fast processing, large blocks of RAM, specialized graphics processing, and high disk input/output speeds that far exceed what is currently available on workstations at AU, and which will be provided by the proposed HPC system. The acquisition of this HPC system will significantly advance the research mission and research training at AU. As researchers come together to manage the system, to train on use of the system, and to attend seminars on research completed with the system, they will work together to solve substantive computational problems. The system will enhance the research-intensive learning environment of graduate students. Undergraduate students, already members of many research teams, will be better trained to contribute in graduate programs and in the workplace. Increased communication and collaboration across AU's campus will amplify existing efforts to include underrepresented groups in research because the shared resource for powerful computing will lead to the formation of a critical mass for peer and mentor support.