MRI: Acquisition of an Adaptive Computation Server for Support of STEM Research at the University of Idaho

Regents Of The University Of Idaho, Moscow ID

Investigators

Abstract

Proposal #: 12-29766 PI(s): Alves-Foss, Jim; Barannyk, Lyudmyla L; Potirniche, Gabriel P; Xing, Tao; Ytreberg, Frederick M; Institution: University of Idaho Title: MRI/Acq.: Adaptive Computation Server for Support of STEM Research at Univ. of Idaho Project Proposed: This project from an EPSCoR state, acquiring an "adaptive computational server" with 80 CPUs, 2 TB RAM, and 9.6 TB disk, enables a variety of research projects in the areas of computational fluid and molecular dynamics, with applications in ecology, energy systems, hydraulics, and protein structures. An effort is also starting out in computer security modeling. The proposed instrument supports up to 40 separate concurrent experiments/simulations each with 2 processor cores and 50 GB of memory, parallel computation across any number of processor cores. It is expected to manage large-scale simulations across hundreds (potentially up to thousands) of virtual machines each running small portions of a parallel algorithm. Broader Impacts: The proposal carries potential for strong broader impacts, as the acquisition will be widely used across many disciplines and colleges due to the intrinsic flexibility of this instrument and the lack of existing resources. Proposed is a good educational and outreach plan.