When IBM officials visited Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University last April, they brought their checkbook with them -- figuratively speaking. The visit was to formally announce the company's selection of ISU's chemistry department as the recipient of a Shared University Research grant.
The chemistry department and Ames Lab's Scalable Computing Lab and Condensed Matter Physics Program all benefit from the $665,000 SUR grant that provided 15 dual-processor, top-of-the-line IBM Power3 RS/6000 43P Model 260 workstations. Housed in the SCL where one of the primary objectives is to develop new methods for doing scalable computing, the workstations are helping to advance cluster computing.
Cluster computing involves networking groups of high-performance workstations to create clusters that operate at supercomputer speed and at a very economical cost.
"The SUR grant is highly competitive," said Mark Gordon, director of Ames Lab's Applied Mathematics and Computational Sciences Program and an ISU distinguished professor of chemistry. "The fact that we received it says that Ames Lab's and ISU's combined expertise is very attractive to IBM, and that they see great promise in our collaborative efforts."
Jeff VerHeul, vice president of Server and Workstation Development, IBM Server Group, said the SUR grant allows IBM, Ames Lab and ISU to work closely to explore the performance of clustered systems. "All three organizations will benefit from the discovery and shared learning currently underway," said VerHeul. "Professor Gordon's team has built a world-class learning laboratory using this new technology to solve real-world scientific problems."
Last revision: 12/17/99 sd
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