Stanford Folding@home Prof Builds New Cluster

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 03/30/11

One of Stanford University's researchers involved in the Folding@home research project will be getting some new computing power. Vijay Pande, an associate professor of chemistry, structural biology, and computer science, has worked with a number of companies to design a new 50-node cluster to support a variety of research projects. Nicknamed "numbercruncher," the new system will handle processing for initiatives in computational biology, molecular dynamics, structural biology, and chemical biology simulation, among others.

Pande is one of the scientists behind the distributed computing program, Folding@home, which taps the unused processing power of consumer computers around the world--about 5 million CPUs since 2000--to study protein "folding." Folding is the assembly process the protein goes through before carrying out its specific function--turning into an enzyme or antibody, for example.

The latest cluster of computers uses Xtreme Compute Technologies' a-BriX Tesla graphics processing unit (GPU) servers; Scalable Informatics' host servers with AMD Opterton processors and Delta-V storage; Bright Computing's Cluster Manager; and AccelerEyes' Jacket for MATLAB, a GPU accelerator for high-end computation processing.

"We believe 'numbercruncher' will contribute to our research efforts across all related disciplines and deliver class leading time to discovery and insight resulting in unprecedented scientific breakthroughs," said Pande.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • geometric pattern features abstract icons of a dollar sign, graduation cap, and document

    Maricopa Community Colleges Adopts Platform to Combat Student Application Fraud

    In an effort to secure its admissions and financial processes, Maricopa Community Colleges has partnered with A.M. Simpkins and Associates (AMSA) to implement the company's S.A.F.E (Student Application Fraudulent Examination) across the district's 10 institutions.

  • stylized figures, resumes, a graduation cap, and a laptop interconnected with geometric shapes

    OpenAI to Launch AI-Powered Jobs Platform

    OpenAI announced it will launch an AI-powered hiring platform by mid-2026, directly competing with LinkedIn and Indeed in the professional networking and recruitment space. The company announced the initiative alongside an expanded certification program designed to verify AI skills for job seekers.

  • Abstract AI circuit board pattern

    New Nonprofit to Work Toward Safer, Truthful AI

    Turing Award-winning AI researcher Yoshua Bengio has launched LawZero, a new nonprofit aimed at developing AI systems that prioritize safety and truthfulness over autonomy.

  • hooded figure types on a laptop, with abstract manifesto-like posters taped to the wall behind them

    Hacktivism Is a Growing Threat to Higher Education

    In recent years, colleges and universities have faced an evolving array of cybersecurity challenges. But one threat is showing signs of becoming both more frequent and more politically charged: hacktivism.