Modern On-Site High Performance Computing System

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Project Summary / Abstract This proposal is for the acquisition of a computational instrument (CI) that will enable effective on-site storage, creation, and processing of datasets that are currently stored, created, and processed almost exclusively off- site, which is both logistically non-optimal and monetarily profligate. Said instrument will directly support a group of NIH awardees (also referred to as the Major Users), in addition to a subsidiary group of secondary users (also referred to as the Minor Users), whose continued success at SUNY Downstate is highly dependent on the capabilities of the proposed equipment. The research breadth of the Major Users comprises computational neuroscience, cardiac biophysics, psychiatric genetics, and neurodynamics, and the depth comprises thousands of simulation hours and millions of data points, whose realization and analyses are beyond the processing power afforded a standard desktop computer, and whose storage necessitates a robust, dedicated, and capacious centralized system. Off-site data storage and processing often is seen as an attractive option, but, there are always data-transport-speed concerns, access-to-resource concerns, and continued and unexpected, accrued, associated costs, the end result being both unnecessarily long job-completion wait times and high per-job expenses: the proposed CI will effectively reduce job-completion wait times and per-job expenses, and be absolutely essential for timely experimental completions. As SUNY Downstate currently lacks any sort of modern high-performance-computing (HPC) processing- storage offering, the requested CI will form the basis of a such a service. Day-to-day operations and technical administration of the CI will be the responsibility of the PI, with support from the HPC Advisory Committee, which will provide guidance on usage and operational policies. SUNY Downstate is fully committed to immediate and on-going support for the proposed CI, including PI-salary and infrastructure-maintenance funds, and is keen on establishing effective on-site HPC.