INTERCONNECTS

Washington State University’s Applied Science Laboratory has installed a new high-performance computing cluster for applied research in the physical sciences and engineering. The equipment will enable materials research, modeling and simulations of the types of problems that formerly could only be conducted at large national laboratories. Advances in computing technology have brought costs down and increased capacity, enabling the type of intensive computing problems that ASL will undertake for its industry and government partners. According to Santanu Chaudhuri, ASL research scientist, he and other ASL researchers will utilize 90 percent of the cluster’s computing power, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Initial projects include quantum chemical (atomic level) simulations of materials properties for industry and federally funded research. For example, ASL researchers are modeling reactive materials of interest to the Office of Naval Research and examining deicing properties of materials for next generation aircraft, which is of interest to Boeing. The HPC cluster will also provide opportunities for students, postdoctoral researchers, and area faculty to work with ASL scientists and use advanced HPC methodologies to solve scientific problems. Funding for the HPC cluster comes from the State of Washington and ONR. Avista is providing space for it in the Steam Plant building in downtown Spokane. Sirti--a state economic development agency headquartered on the Riverpoint Campus--administers the network connectivity to ASL’s space in the Sirti Technology Center, via dark fiber leased from VPnet.