The Student Services Building will soon be home to one of the most powerful computers in the world.
Construction of the $2 million supercomputer will begin in September.
The machine will primarily be used for biomedical research.
The Center for High Performance Computing received a grant of more than $1.5 million last year. The grant, combined with $500,000 in funds from the U, will pay for the cost.
“Our students and faculty will have access to a world-class resource,” said Julio Facelli, director of the center. “Arches is a very significant resource for a university of our size.”
Facelli named the computer “Arches” because of his love for Arches National Park.
“We are planning to name the different sub-clusters after different arches in the park,” he said.
The supercomputer is called a “metacluster” because it is formed from five different clusters of computers. The clusters each contain many individual computers.
The supercomputer will ultimately be comprised of more than 1,000 individual computers.
Each individual Opteron computer-built by Advanced Micro Devices of Sunnyvale, California-has at least one gigabyte of memory.
According to Facelli, the computer will be the biggest in the state of Utah used for scientific research.
The supercomputer will need approximately 130 kilowatts of power for computing and cooling, according to Facelli. It will also take up more than 200 square feet.
Main investigators will include Lisa Cannon-Albright, professor of medical informatics, who will use the computer to help identify genes responsible for cancer and other diseases.
Jeffrey Weiss, associate professor of bioengineering, will use the computer to study a defect in cholesterol metabolism that is fatal to children.
Robert Weiss, associate professor of human genetics, plans to use the computer to study and compare genetic blueprints of humans.
Other scientists planning to conduct research on the computer include Professors of Chemistry Greg Voth and David Grant, Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry Tom Cheatham, Professor of Chemical and Fuels Engineering Ron Pugmire and Facelli.
