NSF Award
2320493
This project is to procure a computer cluster for Ohio University (OHIO). Researchers at OHIO will leverage the cluster to screen millions of chemical compounds for their effectiveness against some disease to shortlist a handful of potential therapeutic compounds that can be tested further in a laboratory. OHIO researchers plan to use the cluster for numerous other applications, such as improving electric car batteries, enhancing navigational aids of airplanes, automating screening of medical images for tumors, mitigating rusting in oil and gas pipelines, generating environmentally friendly construction materials from coal, and identifying abnormal genes in the human body. Additionally, the cluster will be utilized by educators across disciplines, allowing students to develop strong data analysis skills necessary in fields spanning sciences, engineering, and economics. OHIO is the leading institution for Intel Appalachian Semiconductor Education and Technical (ASCENT) Ecosystem that aims to train the workforce for the semiconductor industry. The ASCENT program will rely on the computer cluster to train the students in data analytics and machine learning. OHIO currently lacks its own computer cluster, significantly impeding research and teaching reliant on such infrastructure.<br/> <br/>An in-house computer cluster will enable a diverse variety of research that require quantum calculations, molecular simulations, machine learning, big data analysis, numerical optimization, image analysis, pattern detection, weather simulations, and finite element analysis. The research enabled will result in significant technological milestones, including but not limited to the design of new corrosion inhibitors, drug discovery, transforming coal to a green source of construction materials, creating a clean source of graphite for electric car batteries, automation of medical image analysis to detect tumors, genetics, and developing novel technologies for airplane navigation. The cluster will be an important teaching tool as well. With the advent of big data and machine learning as well as rapid developments in various computational fields, it is essential that undergraduate and graduate students are trained in these areas so that their skills meet the industry needs. OHIO is the lead institution for ASCENT, which is a workforce development and training program to cultivate skilled professionals for Ohio’s semiconductor industry. An in-house cluster will be pivotal for imparting training in database management systems, machine learning, algorithms, optimization, and other semiconductor industry-specific needs.<br/><br/>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.
