Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


New Supercomputer Will Power Education and Research Across Oklahoma

A new supercomputer at the University of Central Oklahoma will support education and research across the state. Named "Buddy" in honor of the university's mascot, Buddy Bronco, the cluster is being funded by a $304,745 National Science Foundation grant awarded to UCO's Center for Research and Education in Interdisciplinary Computation (CREIC) last year. CREIC serves as a "technical resource for diverse and interdisciplinary research and educational projects requiring advanced computational facilities and support," according to the university.

"Buddy" will be built with Pinnacle Flex architecture from HPC vendor Advanced Clustering Technologies. Pinnacle Flex uses servers based on the Intel Xeon processor E5 family, with multiple configuration options available. The cluster's aggregate peak speed will be 32 teraflops; "dedicated GPU and Phi nodes will help researchers accelerate their code, and high memory nodes will facilitate bioinformatics and genomics research," according to a press release. In addition, Advanced Clustering's eQUEUE online job submission tool will enable batch job submissions, support interactive GUI applications and remote visualization, and provide analytics and reporting.

"This cluster is the cornerstone of our mission to transform the research computing infrastructure at the university," said Evan Lemley, director of CREIC and lead researcher on the project, in a prepared statement. "We'll be able to meet the growing needs for high performance computing resources for student-centered research and education at the University of Central Oklahoma and other institutions in Oklahoma."

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • artificial intelligence on laptop

    OpenAI to Combine AI Products into Desktop 'Superapp'

    OpenAI is reportedly developing a desktop application that would combine several of its emerging AI products into a single platform, according to reports, marking the latest step in the company's effort to transform ChatGPT from a standalone chatbot into a broader productivity and automation environment.

  • woman surrounded by virtual hologram icons

    Beyond AI Adoption: Designing Learning for an Age of Abundant Intelligence

    Higher education was designed for a world in which access to knowledge, expertise, feedback, mentorship, and authentic learning experiences were inherently scarce. By making many forms of intelligence increasingly abundant, AI is inherently redefining the existing paradigm.

  • digital brain with network connections

    Microsoft Moving to Internally Developed AI Models in Office Apps

    Microsoft is reportedly using its own in-house artificial intelligence models to handle some workloads in Excel and Outlook, offering new evidence that the company is moving its AI strategy beyond model development and into large-scale cost reduction.

  • Profile silhouette of a person thoughtfully touching their chin, overlaid with transparent data visualizations and digital interface elements suggesting artificial intelligence and analytics.

    The Institutional Knowledge Shift Is Reshaping Higher Ed IT

    Higher education IT leaders are navigating a quiet but consequential transition: Experienced team members are retiring or leaving for private-sector roles, and the teams replacing them are smaller, newer, and often stretched thin. The result is a structural shift in how technology decisions are made, executed, and sustained.