Clemson to host leaders in computing infrastructure for campus research
March 12, 2015
CLEMSON — Leaders involved in operating and supporting campus-shared research computing infrastructure will participate in a best practices workshop on Advancing Research Computing on Campuses March 17-19 at Clemson University.
Photo: Chief Technology Officer Jim Pepin (left), CIO Jim Bottum and Barr von Oehsen, executive director of Cyberinfrastructure Technology Integration, discuss plans for the network of facilitators.
The workshop is co-chaired by Jim Bottum, a speaker at the upcoming workshop and chief information officer and vice provost for computing and information technology at Clemson University, and John Towns, deputy director at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications and director of XSEDE.
The evolving role of computing and data in scientific discovery has created new challenges for campus IT organizations. Infrastructure — both technical and human —has become increasingly generalized, making it difficult for a campus to effectively support the complex and diverse requirements of today’s computer- and data-intensive research-driven agenda. This has forced campuses to take on a larger role in supporting the increasing demands for research computing resources.
“This workshop is dedicated to the best practices of models and strategies in order to leverage the expertise and experiences of the professionals involved to maximize the impact of investment in research computing on campuses,” said Bottum.
Bottum, who last year received a $5.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to broaden the impact of advanced computing resources at campuses across the country, said, “With universities facing a growing data tsunami in virtually all disciplines, we’ve realized that now is the time to build a more cloud-like research infrastructure and support model across campuses to help faculty and students meet their data challenges.”
As campus IT organizations build and expand infrastructure components to address the needs of their users, coordination between campuses is critical in order to create successful, sustainable, scalable and flexible models.
Proposed topics of discussion include:
- Best practices in advanced computing resources
- The condo model
- Business models
- Collaboration with researchers
- Return on investment
- Interactions with national data centers and infrastructures
A few of the confirmed workshop speakers include:
- Bottum;
- James Cuff, assistant dean for research computing at Harvard University;
- David Lifka, director of the Center for Advanced Computing and associate CIO Information Technologies, Cornell University;
- Irene Qualters, division director for advanced cyberinfrastructure at the National Science Foundation;
- Patrick Schmitz, associate director for research information technology, architecture and strategy at Research the University of California Berkeley; and
- James Wilgenbusch, associate director of the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
This workshop is presented in partnership with Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Research and Education Facilitators and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. Professionals involved in operating and supporting campus shared research computing infrastructure are invited to join in this workshop event and share experiences and expertise.
For more information, visit citi.clemson.edu/arcc.
