Academia's fastest computer IU-bound

IU will soon be home to the country's fastest university-owned supercomputer and disk-based storage facility, making IU one of the most well-equipped colleges in terms of research and technology in the world. The computer, made by IBM, will be one of the world's 20 fastest. \nAccording to a press release, the new computer will connect IU researchers to vast networks of information and give them vast amounts of storage disk storage space. \nBrad Wheeler, IU's Chief Information Officer and the Dean of Information Technology at IUB, said that the extra space would be crucial for researchers, and the new computer would help IU to further its research and life science initiatives.\n"Our researchers will have some of the very best tools for engaging grand challenges," Wheeler said. "They are an essential IT foundation for the new IU Life Sciences Strategic plan."\nWheeler also said the computer would benefit the University by attracting top notch faculty. He also said the extra data storage space would be welcome since the old system was nearly full.\n"This investment provides much needed capacity," Wheeler said. "These tools help IU recruit and retain some of the very best faculty."\nAssistant Professor Sean Mooney of the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics said he was thrilled when he first heard that IU had acquired the supercomputer. He said he believed the new computer had the power to enhance both educational and research opportunities at IU, and its acquisition showed that the University was committed to staying at the forefront of technological and scientific innovation. \n"More advanced supercomputing hardware enables more researchers to ask more sophisticated scientific questions," Mooney said. "Additionally, having high performance computing (HPC) on campus can be an excellent educational tool, exposing future researchers to the basics of supercomputing applications."\nMooney said the computer would help move the University into a new "era of quantitative biology," where new and different concepts develop each day. New technologies like the supercomputer are needed to further such advancement. He said he hopes researchers take full advantage of this technology. \n"My hope would be that researchers would use facilities such as these to their advantage by improving the innovation and quality of their research," Mooney said. "Research is always needed to help design the computational experiments of the future."\nWheeler said that while the supercomputer would enhance IU's position as a leading research university, the overall impact of the new technology was not exclusive to the University.\n"Ultimately the greatest good will be its uses by our researchers to solve problems of disease and improve the quality of life," Wheeler said. "Scientific and scholarly advances that help us understand our world, forces of nature, and preserve our digital heritage are all real positives from this investment."v