CC* Team: Texas Education and Research Cybertraining Center (TERCC)

University Of Texas At Dallas, Richardson TX

Investigators

Abstract

The Texas Research and Education Cyberinfrastructure Services (TRECIS) center establishes a regional hub that advances collaborative support for research computing and expands the use of advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI) and expertise throughout the University of Texas system. It effectively integrates previously siloed CI and computing support across three UT campuses and the Lonestar Education and Research Network (LEARN) and builds a unique model of embedded collaborative facilitation with scientific projects. TRECIS trains postdoctoral researchers with domain-specific expertise in high performance computing and other CI-related services who are then available for consultations and support. TRECIS creates new career paths in research facilitation, broadens CI access for research and education and engages students and underrepresented groups, including historically black colleges, other minority institutions, and organizations that promote gender equality in STEM. TRECIS builds upon the model of shared CI and support developed at UT Dallas, extends fast connectivity and networking to other campuses, provides outreach and develops a model of research facilitation through training and collaboration. It initially engages seven scientific projects from the fields of biomedicine, chemistry, geosciences, and others. Most are multi-institution collaborations and have multiple CI needs, including parallel / distributed computing, data modeling, and storage and transfer of data. TRECIS helps these projects and other users of research computing in allocating CI resources and developing effective workflows, algorithms and pipelines. 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.