MRI: Acquisition of Big-Data Private-Cloud Research Cyberinfrastructure (BDPC)

William Marsh Rice University, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

Proposal #: 13-38099 PI(s): Vardi, Moshe; Allen, Genevera; Bradshaw, Stephen; Karaki, Lydia; Veeraraghavan, Ashok Institution: Rice University Title: MRI/Acq.: Big-Data Private Cloud Research Cyberinfrastructure (BDPC) Project Proposed: This project, acquiring a novel cyber-infrastructure instrument for big data cloud computing designed as a loosely coupled computations system with large memory requirements, enables a significant range of application domains as well as research into infrastructures for cloud computing. The domain sciences addressed range from development of big-data enabling software technologies spanning fundamental computer science work, to the analysis of electronic medical records, twitter streams, and hurricane evacuation strategies. Additional benefits are expected in understanding disease and therapeutic treatments, and in the development and application of mathematical models in the areas of machine learning, optimization, compressed sensing, image processing, and statistical analysis and data mining. The instrument will also help bridge the gap between numerical models and observations in astrophysics. Broader Impacts: The broader impacts on society, and especially in education and training (including for members of underrepresented groups) are all compelling. The instrument will directly impact the educational experience for all students taking classes in computing and computational problem solving. The targeted research communities are diverse and broad, including the underrepresented groups, with strong empirical and experimental components. The proposed instrument is highly suitable for training and education.