CC* Compute: Improved Computing for Advanced Research and Education (ICARE)

University Of Montana, Missoula MT

Investigators

Abstract

University researchers and educators require access to high performance computing, high bandwidth connections, sharable storage, and high-throughput data transfers. Unfortunately, institutional cyberinfrastructures can be silos of dissimilar and unconnected computing resources, with limited functionality, and inconsistent service delivery. The Improved Computing for Advanced Research and Education (ICARE) team addresses these issues and advances discovery and understanding by serving as a shared high-throughput computing site. Information Technology (IT) professionals and the scientific research community work together to coordinate campus-level cyberinfrastructure improvements based on project-driven needs. These include scientific research projects that improve natural disaster forecasting, produce innovative modeling tools used for maintaining biodiversity, impact the design of nuclear receptor drugs used to treat many diseases, develop deep learning approaches to DNA sequencing, and explore genomic responses to climate change. The main feature of ICARE is the UM Shared Computing Cluster (UMSCC). UMSCC is configured with 8 computing nodes, 3 GPU nodes, and 2 storage nodes. Open source software solutions and participation in the Open Science Grid (OSG) facilitates data intensive research and extends computing resources to internal and external research groups, graduate and undergraduate researchers, and the nation. This effort strengthens collaboration between diverse groups of researchers and provides a vehicle for ongoing discussion and planning between IT professionals, educators, and researchers. A special aspect of this project is the direct relationship between IT professionals and the campus scientific research community, which is providing sound IT solutions that are critical for future competitiveness in grant funding and academic contribution. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.