Innovations through Computational Sciences

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The proposal submitted by Mississippi State University (MSU) aims at establishing national prominence in computational sciences research by building on the State's existing strengths in high performance computing. Its specific goals are: (1) increase the State's research capacity by (a) recruit ~12 outstanding faculty with competitive start-up packages (~$100K/year), (b) support and mentor new and existing faculty in interdisciplinary computational sciences research, and (c) enhance the computational sciences infrastructure with new equipment and support staff; (2) expand the collaboration among MRC institutions and outside laboratories; (3) increase opportunities for women and underrepresented groups in the selected research areas; (4) increase the number of participating graduate students and their interface with K-12 students and teachers; and (5) foster state economic development through new intellectual property and its commercialization.Three interrelated areas of computational sciences will be the focus of the project: (1) computational biology, (2) computational chemistry, and (3) biosystem simulation. Computational biology research will focus on the development of novel algorithms to store, retrieve, and analyze data. Computational chemistry research aims at improving the understanding of small molecules and their interactions with large molecule biological targets. Research on biosystem simulation is expected to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of complex physiological processes that cannot be easily measured, and to their incorporation into integrative, whole-body models. The theme for this project, computational sciences, builds on previous research investments, the links among the three research areas, and the potential for commercialization. Therefore, the proposed scope of work will allow the State to advance research and strengthen collaboration among its largest research universities, including (1) Jackson State University (JSU) through its Army High Performance Computing Research Center, (2) Mississippi State University (MSU) with the High Performance Computing Laboratory, (3) University of Mississippi (UM) via the Center for Supercomputing Research, and (4) University of Southern Mississippi (USM) with its DoD HPC Major Shared Resource Center at Stennis Space Center, and its High Performance Visualization Lab. An education and outreach initiative will focus on recruiting and retaining promising students in computational majors. The approach is to expand existing programs and to develop new components, which include partnerships between institutions of higher learning, and to provide secure pathways for students in computational science majors with intervention at various levels from high school to graduate school.