A Proposed Enhancement of the Rhode Island Network for Computational Chemistry and Physics

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With support from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities (CRIF) Program, the Departments of Chemistry at Brown University and at the University of Rhode Island will acquire a computer system to enhance the Rhode Island Network for Computational Chemistry and Physics. The system will consist of Internet-2 linked computing clusters at Brown and URI. Clusters at each institution will have a hybrid structure composed of two distinct layers. Layer-I, the natural compute server for CPU-intensive, communications-tolerant applications, will consist of a larger number of loosely coupled processors. Layer-II, designed for more communications-intensive applications, will be a smaller, more tightly coupled sub-cluster. This equipment will enhance research in the following areas: a) structure structure (Freeman); b) the dynamical behavior of liquids (Stratt); c) the generation of excited states of strongly quantum systems (Nightingale); and d) many-body quantum dynamics (Doll). A cluster of fast, modern computer workstations is vital to serving the computing needs of active research departments. Such a "computer network" also serves as a development environment for new theoretical codes and algorithms, provides state-of-the-art graphics and visualization facilities, and supports research in state-of-the-art applications of parallel processing.