Indiana University’s commitment to building the future of high performance computing in research was featured at the Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing Conference Series (PEARC20) an annual conference by the Association for Computing Machinery. Held virtually due to the global pandemic, IU researchers featured new tools and methodologies transforming the interdisciplinary field of supercomputing.
As a plenary speaker, David Y. Hancock introduced Jetstream2— one of five innovative HPC systems awarded funding by the National Science Foundation. As principal investigator and director for Advanced Cyberinfrastructure at IU’s Pervasive Technology Institute, Hancock described how Jetstream2 will build on the essential capacity for on-demand data analytics and computation for researchers across the country.
David Y. Hancock, PI, Jetstream2
Across science and engineering, as well as fields like sociology, linguistics or law, researchers are utilizing larger and larger datasets. Jetstream2 will be a resource for anyone– regardless of location or coding ability, to access the high-powered computational resources that reduce the time required to analyze data.
David Y. Hancock
Jetstream, which began in 2014, has delivered more than 99% uptime, and provided more than 6 times more supercomputing resources than any other XSEDE resource, provides a solid foundation for the newly funded resource. Jetstream2 will provide more easy-to-use high performance computing and software for researchers with limited or no coding experience.
Easy to expand and reconfigure, Jetstream 2 will serve as a model of distributed cloud computing for other academic institutions considering investing in their own advanced cyberinfrastructure facilities. Over the next five years, IU is expected to receive nearly $20 million from the NSF to create, implement, and operate Jetstream2. The 8 petaFLOPS cloud computing system will use next-generation AMD EPYC processors and NVIDIA A100 GPUs, and 18.5 petabytes of storage.
Indiana University’s research and leadership were regular features across PEARC20:- Craig Stewart, Executive Director of the IU Pervasive Technology Institute (IU PTI), served as a Technical Program Chair. Shawn Slavin, also of IU PTI, served as a co-chair with Sean Cleveland of the University of Hawai’i.
- IU’s Cyberinfrastructure Integration Research Center (CIRC) presented research on identifying the need for science gateways and HPC resources in education at institutions serving scientists and students underrepresented in NSF-funded research.
- IU’s Cyberinfrastructure Integration Research Center (CIRC) explored using science gateways to model complex issues like carbon sequestration and water management. These projects also work to improve upon open-source software and data management frameworks to increase accessibility to scientists working across disciplines.
- IU’s security engineers are developing a new critical infrastructure to keep pace with the increased use of science gateways and virtual machines.
- Finally, along with partner institutions from across the US, Indiana University is looking ahead to the future of a national cyberinfrastructure ecosystem, aiming to extend campus-tested infrastructure on a national scale.
