The Cornell Theory Center
The Cornell Theory Center (CTC) is Cornell's
high-performance computing and interdisciplinary research center. CTC's main technical research
and development thrust is in large-scale NT-based
cluster computing. Through its Advanced Cluster
Computing Consortium (AC3), CTC acquired a
256-processor cluster - AC3 Velocity - which consists of 64
Dell PowerEdge™ servers, each with four Intel
Pentium III Xeon™ 500 mhz processors and
running Microsoft Windows® NT™. The primary cluster interconnect is provided by
Giganet, Inc.
Cornell is one of the leading institutions for computational science and engineering in the
country, due in large part to the resources and
expertise available at CTC. Associated researchers work
in some of the most computationally challenging
fields. The kinds of interdisciplinary research projects
that need the power of AC3 Velocity include:
Computational Finance - projects such as investigating new optimization algorithms for
large-scale portfolio analysis and value-at-risk calculations.
Digital Material - a virtual working environment
for scientists simulating the deformation, fatigue,
and failure of materials.
Computational Genomics - development of
highly-advanced tools for large-scale data acquisition
and analysis to understand the origins of life and
the
molecular processes that underlie life.
Biomedical Research - development of new algorithms and interdisciplinary approaches
to molecular structure research, with a special
emphasis on protein dynamics.
These projects also benefit from CTC's
extensive visualization expertise and resources, including
a three-wall CAVE virtual reality environment,
where scientists can "immerse" themselves in
their application.
CTC is an integral part of Cornell's new
Computing and Information Sciences initiative, and is active
in attracting new communities, such as business,
the arts, and the social sciences, to advanced
computing and information technologies. CTC works
closely with its AC3 Infrastructure Members, among
whom are Dell Computer Corporation, Intel
Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, and Giganet, Inc., and with
a range of corporations interested in implementing state-of-the-art cluster environments and in having
a strategic window into future technologies. |
