CC* Compute: HPC Services for the Colorado State University System

Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO

Investigators

Abstract

This project is for the acquisition of High-Performance Computing (HPC) cyberinfrastructure (CI) on behalf of Colorado State University (CSU). The CI includes a 1,344 core HPC system with 28 nodes, and switches/interconnects providing 10+ Gigabits per second access to the new nodes. This upgrade to CSU’s computational capacity is part of the condo cluster within the Alpine HPC system being deployed in stages at the University of Colorado, Boulder (UCB). The long history between CSU and UCB through successful collaboration on the Summit HPC system ensures a seamless transition from Summit to Alpine use for CSU researchers. The HPC/CI complements the outstanding innovation and discovery at the CSU campus, with a principal focus on NSF funded research areas at CSU, such as weather forecasting and modeling climate change, next-gen solar cell design, genome characterization, design of extreme ultraviolet lasers, hardware acceleration for artificial intelligence, and bioinformatics. The HPC/CI is accessible to the Rocky Mountain Advanced Computing Consortium (RMACC), which is a regional HPC consortium of academic and research institutions spanning nine states, including under-represented groups in under-served, rural communities. CSU-Pueblo, a Hispanic-serving institution, is a full partner and benefits from this CI. Enhancements to educational offerings at CSU will provide training and promote HPC use among diverse disciplines. CSU is the largest single producer of STEM graduates in Colorado, and HPC components will be integrated into this STEM curricula and K-12 teacher training programs, with an emphasis on inclusion of women and under-represented minorities. 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.