Brand flips switch

IU just got a new toy. But this one could aid in research on the preservation of health and prevention diseases, among other uses.\nOn Wednesday, officials from IU and IBM unveiled the most recent collaboration in their longstanding relationship -- a supercomputer capable of processing one trillion numerical calculations in one second. \nThe IBM SP, the nation's largest university-owned supercomputer, triples IU's previous supercomputing capacity and will support IU researchers in a broad range of fields. University researchers in the departments of biology, chemistry, computational physics, astronomy and archeology are among those most affected by the upgrade.\nThe supercomputer is part of the Information Technology infrastructure needed to support the Indiana Genomics Initiative. According to a release, INGEN is the University's research program designed to help create the future of medicine and health care. \nThe teraflop system is the University's largest computing acquisition. Funded largely by the Lilly Endowment, the system and the initiative will help University researchers in advancing their studies.\n"Our faculty and staff will participate in developing state-of-the-art IT tools and applications for life sciences research, including genomics, which will help us to discover new ways of preventing and treating human disease," IU President Myles Brand said in a statement.\nBrand also referred to the initiative as the "Lewis to our Clark in genetics exploration."\n"It's (IBM SP) the jewel in the crown that will advance research not only in medical research … but will be the central function in the genomics initiative of the Lilly endowment," Brand said.\n Brand concluded his portion of the presentation by referring back to his "Lewis and Clark" analogy,\n"It takes a group of people working together to create new horizons," he said.\nHe also said the installment will reach beyond the areas of medical research and help to create 500 new jobs in Indiana.\nCraig Stewart, director of Research and Academic Computing for IU, said that while the entire system is currently in Bloomington, plans to move part of the system to Indianapolis in the spring of 2002 are under way.\n"The system is currently here, but by spring break 2002, we hope to have half of the system in Indianapolis," Stewart said. "This way it places the system close to researchers in Indianapolis, but everyone has the capability of accessing data from anywhere. The purpose of placing it in Indianapolis … it's trying to make central Indiana more attractive to larger research corporations."\nThe upgrade will help IU advance its life sciences research using INGEN, through a collaboration of scientists and physicians who will study the information that makes up the human genome and its function in human health. IBM is the primary provider of supercomputing technology for INGEN.\nIrving Wladawsky-Berger, co-chairperson for President George W. Bush's Information Technology Advisory Committee and vice president of Technology & Strategy, Server Group for IBM, said the upgrade will be an advancement for both IBM and IU.\n"This is a great day for IBM … For IU, this is a long step forward in life sciences," he said. "The collaboration between the nation's leading technology corporation and one of its greatest institutions is cause for celebration," he said.\nStewart later said that the importance of the installation is its capacity to be beneficial in multiple ways.\n"INGEN affects not only medical research and data analysis, but it will also improve the states economy by creating new jobs. It especially helps to make Indiana more attractive to pharmaceutical genetics and research genomics industries," Stewart said.\nMichael McRobbie, vice president for Information Technology, said the supercomputer will be an advantage.\n"This is a competitive advantage for the University," he said. "At the frontiers is where the best science is done"