MRI: Acquisition of a Computer Cluster for Space Weather Modeling

该团队将在亚拉巴马A M大学（AAMU）建立一个计算物理集群，这是一个历史上的黑人土地授予机构，以允许太阳物理学和空间天气建模方面的前沿工作。 该团队将建立一个16节点的计算机集群，每个节点包括一对64位四核处理器和Myrinet高速互连能力。该集群还将在连接到头节点的5级RAID阵列中拥有9万亿字节的大容量存储，以及相关的支持设备。 主要研究人员将包括四个高端工作站，使用模型输出执行2D和3D可视化。AAMU物理系的成员是综合空间天气建模中心（CISM）的合作伙伴，该中心是由波士顿大学领导的国家科学基金会科学和技术中心。 这些人员参与了国际空间科学理事会正在开发的综合空间气象模型的验证活动。 此外，该团队的两名成员是年轻的教职员工，以及太阳物理建模专家。AAMU物理系成立了HBCU（历史上的黑人学院和大学）机构中的第一个研究小组，为少数民族学生提供空间物理学的高级学位。该集群将提供一个独特的研究设施，使该部能够提供计算物理学方面的高级培训，并加强其独特的空间科学研究方案。 这种高性能的计算系统也将被AAMU其他研究部门的学生和教师使用，如植物和土壤科学系，化学系和工程系。

The team will construct a computational physics cluster at Alabama A&M University (AAMU), a historically black land grant institution, to allow leading edge work in solar physics and space weather modeling. The team will build a sixteen-node computer cluster, such that each node includes a pair of 64-bit quad-core processors and Myrinet high-speed interconnect capability. The cluster will also have 9 TeraBytes of mass storage in a Level 5 RAID array connected to a head node, as well as associated support equipment. The principal investigators will include four high-end workstations to perform 2D and 3D visualizations using model output.Members of the AAMU Physics Department are partners of the Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling (CISM), a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center headed by Boston University. These personnel are involved in validation activities for integrated space weather models being developed by CISM. Also, two members of the team are young faculty members, as well as specialists in solar physics modeling. The AAMU Physics Department has formed the first research group among HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) institutions to offer advanced degrees in space physics to minority students. The cluster will provide a unique facility for research, allowing the Department to provide advanced training in computational physics and to strengthen its unique space science research program. This high performance computational system will also be used by students and faculty of other research departments at AAMU, such as the Department of Plant and Soil Science, the Department of Chemistry, and the Department of Engineering.