CC* CIRA: High-performance computing solutions for small Midwest institutions

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High-performance computing is one of the main drivers of scientific discoveries and technological innovations. However, due to the lack of high-performance computing resources and the rise of big data, teaching and research in data science and other emerging fields is becoming out of reach for small institutions of higher education. This cyberinfrastructure research alignment project provides a high-performance computing environment to advance research and foster scientific collaborations at small academic institutions in the Midwest. The project establishes partnerships among five non-R1 institutions in Iowa and Minnesota to plan a regional computing network that connects these institutions via research collaborations and outreach activities. The seed institutions on the project, Macalester College, Grinnell College, Central College, Coe College, and the University of Northern Iowa, are teaming up to allow faculty and students to explore the increasingly relevant field of high-performance computing. This is accomplished by studying how the research and classroom needs at these institutions correspond to hardware and networking requirements and by identifying opportunities for intra-institutional collaborations that will facilitate effective instruction and scientific discoveries. The overarching goal is to create a computing network that combines modern, centralized hardware resources, housed at the University of Northern Iowa, with the interdisciplinary expertise of faculty at the partnering organizations. A significant part of the project focuses on a feasibility plan for including community colleges and other small regional institutions in the network. This will make careers in an exciting, fast-growing, and data-driven world accessible to students of all backgrounds.This award by the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure is jointly supported by the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.