Joe Caspermeyer, Media Relations Manager & Science Editor
(480) 727-0369 | joseph.caspermeyer@asu.edu
TEMPE, Ariz. – In far less time than the blink of an eye, the latest upgrade to an Arizona State University supercomputer now makes it possible to do its operations faster than ever before.
That would be an astounding 700 billion computations in less than 1/60th of a second, says Dan Stanzione, director of the High Performance Computing Initiative (HPCI) at ASU’s Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.
“That’s the equivalent of taking a calculator and doing one operation per second, by hand, continuously for the next one and a half million years,’’ Stanzione told about 100 guests Oct. 3 during the official dedication of ‘Saguaro 2.’
Saguaro 2 – a set of 7-foot-tall black monolith computer rackswas upgraded in part by a nearly $2 million grant in July by the National Institutes of Health. Each stack is partially water-cooled, with as many as 512 processor cores linked by ultra-high-speed Infiniband cables. The grant was in response to a wide range of scientific activities proposed by ASU’s Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, Biodesign Institute, and local research partner, the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).
Stanzione said the dedication marked the start of “our next era in supercomputing,’’ and of three ASU milestones:
Although the computing world changes daily, and measurements depend on numerous factors, Stanzione told the gathering, for some functions, ASU’s new computer may be among the top five in the world.
High performance computing addresses the needs of science beyond theory and experimentation to “the ever more important role of simulation,’’ which he called the “Third Mode’’ of scientific progress.
“As we move in science into the nano-scale of materials and molecular design and diagnostics, or into the macro scale of global climate or the motion of the galaxies, experimentation becomes more expensive and difficult, and simulation becomes invaluable,’’ Stanzione said. “The speed of those simulations determine the speed of progress.’’
The ‘Saguaro 2’ supercomputer, housed on the first floor of ASU’s Barry M. Goldwater Center for Science and Engineering, is capable of 50 trillion mathematical operations per second.
The new system doubles the capabilities of ASU’s High Performance Computing Initiative (HPCI). The system consists of Intel microprocessors, servers from Dell, storage from Data Direct Networks, and components from a number of other partners, including fiber optic cables from Phoenix-based Zarlink.
The new supercomputer also adds to the storage capacity of the HPCI, bringing the total storage to 1.5 quadrillion bytes, or 1.5 petabytesor 15 followed by 14 zeroes (1,500,000,000,000,000). That’s enough storage space to record nearly a quarter million DVD discs.
For the complexities of many of today’s biomedical computational research, handling vast amounts of raw data creates a bottleneck in research due to the slow computer processing time.
“I firmly believe that computation is crucial to the competitiveness of our research at ASU and at TGen, and is increasingly crucial to our economic competitiveness as a state, and nation, as well,’’ Stanzione said.
The HPCI storage will be used to store a vast array of data from TGen’s DNA sequencers and simulations to other large datasets from ASU researchers, including a high resolution mapping of the moon to be performed in 2009 by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
“In 2009, more genome sequence data will be generated than all the words spoken by humans in all of history. Teasing meaningful understanding from this avalanche of data is also the role of HPC (high performance computing),’’ Stanzione said.
ASU and TGen scientists are collaborating on a variety of research projects that develop and examine molecular profiles of human diseases and fundamental pathways involved in disease states.
“The parallel supercomputing system supported by this NIH grant provides a powerful resource for ASU and TGen engineers, researchers, biomedical informaticians, computer scientists and biologists to interact in solving complex computational problems that will lead to better disease diagnosis and prognosis,” said Dr. Deirdre Meldrum, dean of ASU’s School of Engineering and director of the Center for Ecogenomics at the Biodesign Institute at ASU.
The focus of their collaboration is to discern complex or simple sets of biomarkers useful for disease diagnosis and prognosis, as well as to develop molecular classification for directing optimal therapeutic choice and identifying new targets. The molecular profile datasets being analyzed cover diseases including: Alzheimers, autism, diabetes, coronary heart disease, malignant gliomas, melanoma, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, multiple myeloma, and breast cancer.
“I am confident this new supercomputer system will help the ASU and TGen scientists expedite their research, and accelerate innovation in biomedical and engineering research,’’ said Dr. Ed Suh, Senior Investigator Director Chief Information Officer of TGen’s Computational Biology division and the grant’s Principle Investigator.
HPCI staff will provide management and operational support for the system in conjunction with TGen’s computational team.
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About the Biodesign Institute
The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University pursues research to create personalized medical diagnostics and treatments, outpace infectious disease, clean the environment, develop alternative energy sources, and secure a safer world. Using a team approach that fuses the biosciences with nanoscale engineering and advanced computing, the Biodesign Institute collaborates with academic, industrial and governmental organizations globally to accelerate these discoveries to market. The institute also educates future scientists by providing hands-on laboratory research for more than 200 students per semester. For more information, go to: www.biodesign.asu.edu
About TGen
The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a non-profit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking research with life changing results. Research at TGen is focused on helping patients with diseases such as cancer, neurological disorders and diabetes. TGen is on the cutting edge of translational research where investigators are able to unravel the genetic components of common and complex diseases. Working with collaborators in the scientific and medical communities, TGen believes it can make a substantial contribution to the efficiency and effectiveness of the translational process. For more information, go to: www.tgen.org
About the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering
The Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering at Arizona State University serves more than 4,000 undergraduates and 2,000 graduate students, providing skills and knowledge for science and technology-oriented careers. Ranked nationally in the top 50 among more than 185 engineering schools rated by US News World Report magazine, the school engages in use-inspired research in a multidisciplinary setting for the benefit of individuals, society and the environment. Its 200-plus faculty members pursue research in electrical, chemical, mechanical, aerospace, civil and environmental engineering, bioengineering, computer science, and biomedical informatics. The Ira A. School of Engineering also includes the School of Computing and Informatics, the Del E. Web School of Construction and the School of Materials, which is jointly administered with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Many faculty members work collaboratively with ASUs Biodesign Institute, the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the Global Institute of Sustainability. For more information, visit the Web site www.fulton.asu.edu/fulton
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Steve Yozwiak
Senior Science Writer
Translational Genomics Research Institute
Phone: (602) 343-8704
syozwiak@tgen.org
Joe Kullman, joe.kullman@asu.edu
(480) 965-8122 direct line
(480) 773-1364 mobile
Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona USA
www.fulton.asu.edu/fulton/
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