ASU's Research Computing

ASU's Research Computing
Name	ASU's Research Computing
Type	University research support unit
Parent	Arizona State University
Location	Tempe, Arizona
Key people	Michael G. Crow, Kathleen A. Goelzer
Website	https://researchcomputing.asu.edu

ASU's Research Computing. It is a centralized unit within Arizona State University dedicated to providing advanced computational infrastructure, expertise, and support to accelerate scientific discovery and scholarly research across all disciplines. The unit operates under the leadership of the university's Office of the University Provost and collaborates closely with the ASU Knowledge Enterprise. Its mission is to democratize access to high-performance computing, enabling researchers from fields like astrophysics, genomics, social science, and materials science to tackle complex problems that require significant data analysis and modeling capabilities.

Overview and Mission

The core mission is to empower the research community at Arizona State University by removing technical barriers to large-scale computation. This aligns with the broader institutional vision championed by President Michael G. Crow for a "New American University" that is socially embedded and focused on use-inspired research. The unit strategically invests in cutting-edge cyberinfrastructure, including supercomputers, high-throughput computing clusters, and large-scale data storage systems. It serves as a critical partner for principal investigators securing grants from agencies like the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, often providing the necessary computational resources that form the backbone of major research proposals.

Core Facilities and Resources

The physical and virtual infrastructure is anchored by several flagship systems. The **Agave** cluster is a primary high-performance computing resource used for parallel processing jobs in computational chemistry and physics. For data-intensive workloads, the **Sol** supercomputer, featuring GPU accelerators, supports research in artificial intelligence and machine learning. These systems are complemented by the **ASU Research Data Repository** for secure, long-term data preservation, aligning with mandates from funders like the U.S. Department of Energy. The infrastructure is housed in secure, energy-efficient data centers and is integrated with national resources through networks like the Internet2.

Key Research Areas and Projects

Research Computing resources are pivotal across diverse university initiatives. In the biological sciences, they support large-scale genomic analyses for the Biodesign Institute and projects studying the human microbiome. Computational social scientists leverage these resources to model complex human behaviors and social networks. Major interdisciplinary projects include supporting the NASA-funded Lucy mission for planetary science, climate modeling for the Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, and advanced simulations for the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. The resources also enable high-fidelity modeling for new materials discovery at the Molecule Maker Lab Institute.

Partnerships and Collaborations

The unit actively fosters partnerships to extend its reach and impact. It is a key member of the Open Science Grid, a consortium that provides distributed computing for data-intensive research. Collaborations with industry leaders like Intel and AMD help in testing and deploying next-generation hardware. Within Arizona, it partners with the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University on shared cyberinfrastructure initiatives. It also works closely with the Arizona Board of Regents and state agencies to support statewide research priorities in areas such as water sustainability and public health analytics.

Training and User Support

A comprehensive training program is offered to cultivate computational proficiency among students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty. This includes regular workshops on parallel programming, data visualization, and the use of specific software stacks like R and Python. The team provides direct consulting support for code optimization and workflow management, helping researchers efficiently use systems like Slurm Workload Manager. These educational efforts are often coordinated with the ASU Library and the Graduate College to embed computational skills into the broader research and learning ecosystem.

Governance and Strategic Initiatives

Governance is overseen by a faculty advisory committee representing major academic units, ensuring resource allocation aligns with university-wide research priorities. Strategic initiatives focus on continuous infrastructure refresh cycles and adopting emerging technologies like quantum computing testbeds in partnership with companies like IBM. The unit plays a central role in ASU's strategic plan for research growth, contributing to initiatives that enhance computational research for the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory and other transdisciplinary enterprises. Its roadmap is designed to maintain competitiveness for federal funding from entities like the National Science Foundation's Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure.

Category:Arizona State University Category:Research organizations in the United States Category:High-performance computing Category:Organizations based in Tempe, Arizona