An interdisciplinary group is exploring "super" new frontiers at Buffalo State.
Using two supercomputing clusters on campus, members are making use of technology and equipment from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for research, teaching, and learning.
Each cluser, a system of linked computers performing as one central processing unit, forms a high-performance computer or parallel proccessing supercomputer. The physics cluster is in the Science Building, and the mathematics system is in Bishop Hall.
The Hiperc group (for high-performance computing) aims to foster an accessible environment for scientific computing at Buffalo State. Members include seven faculty and staff members and 15 students from mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer information systems, and philosophy & religious studies. The Buffalo State Math Club is a partner organization.
High-performance computing applications are diverse and often groundbreaking, allowing new knowledge to be gained more quickly than ever before. Using these tools, researchers can:
Analyze enormous amounts of data cost-effectively through parallel processing; a large number of smaller calculations can be solved simultaneously, or a single large task can be divided among multiple CPUs.
Compute, visualize, and model problems in business and finance, biology and bioinformatics, engineering, physical science, and geography.
Visualize sophisticated mathematical concepts.
Simulate and study complex chaotic and dynamic nonlinear systems.
Integrate analyical tools for data visualization, archiving, and scientific modeling.
Place Java applets on Web servers to run interactive programs that users can access remotely.
Conduct remote-controlled experiments and automate data collection and equipment (with LabVIEW), freeing researchers to focus on non-routine tasks and analysis.
To date, HiPerC has held open forums, panel discussions, and colloquia on topics such as parallel processing, building a cluster, and LabVIEW, as well as a demonstration of Mathematica, a software system and computer language for use in mathematical applications. Members also are seeking grant funding for high-performance computing projects, building affiliations with research and private-sector organizations, and developing new curricula for students. This semester, a seminar course, MAT 490 HiPerC Seminar, is being offered. An interdisciplinary minor in scientific computing is being discussed.
HiPerC activities are supported by the SUNY Research Foundation at Buffalo State, the Faculty of Natural and Social Sciences, and a Transformative Technology Initiatives to Invigorate Instructional Practices (TIP) grant. NASA has donated $450,000 worth of used equipment and has sponsored internship opportunities for Buffalo State students.
The group is open to the campus community. Faculty and staff are invited to get involved and consider possible research and teaching applications.