The Ohio Supercomputer Center strives to propel Ohio’s economy, from academic researchers to industrial partners. To that end, Ohio possesses one of the most potent combinations of statewide cyberinfrastructure elements in the world: high-end supercomputing, research leadership and innovative workforce education programs.
The numbers tell our story best. Last year, 1,068 distinct users – representing academic, healthcare and industrial researchers from across Ohio – took advantage of OSC’s supercomputing and storage resources. In the process, they:
-
Ran 2.2 million computer jobs
-
Used 8.5 million computing hours
-
Leveraged access to OSC for more than $70 million in related research funding
Since 2011, the Ohio Supercomputer Center has been a member of the Ohio Technology Consortium, a division of the Ohio Board of Regents. The consortium’s collection of technology and information members, which include OSC, OARnet, OhioLINK, eStudent Services, and the still-in-development Research and Innovation Center, provides Ohioans a foundation unlike that in any other state.
In particular, OARnet’s 100 Gigabit-per-second (Gbps) network ensures researchers around Ohio have reliable access to OSC systems. New network connections in 2013 also provide new collaboration opportunities. OARnet connected Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) to its high-speed, statewide data network, providing a direct link between the base and the state’s leading universities.
The OARnet-WPAFB connection also provides universities with access to the Defense and Research Engineering Network (DREN), the Department of Defense’s research and engineering computer network. DREN is a robust, high-capacity, low-latency network that provides connectivity
to the Defense department’s high-performance computing user sites, resources and other networks across the nation. A similar OARnet connection to NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland connects researchers directly to 12 different NASA sites throughout the United States.
Connections such as these ensure OSC users have the ability to seamlessly collaborate with others around the nation, and the world. It’s all part of our mission to empower our clients, partner strategically to develop new research and business opportunities and lead Ohio’s knowledge economy.
We Empower Researchers
Recognizing HPC resources as an indispensable springboard for innovative breakthroughs, OSC empowers academic and industry researchers to achieve pioneering scientific discoveries in biosciences, advanced materials, energy & the environment and a host of emerging disciplines. The charts below give a snapshot of the center’s system usage by academic field of science and by academic and commercial researchers.
OSC resources include:
-
Installation of hardware and software applica- tions for use with OSC systems, which deliver a combined peak computing performance of more than 200 Teraflops. Our consulting staff also will work with you to resolve problems, port and optimize codes.
-
Providing advanced computing technology solutions to small and mid-sized companies, allowing for a reduced time to market and developing new and improved products and services.
-
Workforce education through innovative programs in computational science, including a baccalaureate minor, an associate concentration and workforce certification.
We Partner with Industry
OSC’s industrial engagement efforts continue with AweSim, our latest program that will design and deploy easy-to-use advanced manufacturing simulation apps. The goal of the public-private partnership is to provide Ohio’s small and mid-sized manufacturers with the tools they need to leverage simulation-driven design.
We Lead Ohio's Knowledge Economy
OSC directs strategic research activities of vital interest to the State of Ohio, the nation and the world community. Nationally, the center supports the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) as one of the 17 partner organizations. An initiative of the National Science Foundation, XSEDE serves as the foundation for a national cyberinfrastructure ecosystem; it’s a single virtual system that scientists can use to interactively share computing resources, data, and expertise. Our in-house research staff specializations include supercomputing, computational science, data management and biomedical applications.
