Ncsc Equipped To Aid State's Thriving Biotech Industry

BT Catalyst,  April, 2000  

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High performance computing (HPC) continues to grow in importance as researchers push the limits of existing computational capabilities in order to solve more complex problems.

The North Carolina Supercomputing Center (NCSC), a division of Research Triangle Park-based MCNC, supports and promotes the use of computational science for commerce, education and research applications. The recent acquisition of an IBM RS/6000 SP has placed NCSC at number 52 on the worldwide list of Top 500 Supercomputing Sites (See www.top500.org).

NCSC recognizes that North Carolina's biotechnology community is one of the largest growth industries in the state. NCSC seeks ways to strengthen biotechnology companies that have a current or future need for HPC resources and has great interest in the potential for collaborations.

At the March 2000 Biotechnology Roundtable, held at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, attendees learned about the technical capabilities of NCSC's facilities and staff.

"I doubt you will leave here tonight saying, 'Oh, I really need that [NCSC's services], "said William Youngblood, Ph.D., vice president of high performance computing. "But in five years you will have a use for it."

NCSC's parent, MCNC, is a private nonprofit corporation that offers advanced electronic and information technology services to businesses, state and federal government agencies and North Carolina's educational institutions.

Founded in 1980 as the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina, MCNC uses its resources to develop and apply technologies that help businesses integrate the latest innovations into their products.

MCNC has two service centers. One runs a statewide network, providing Internet access, data sharing and videoconferencing for state universities.

The second center, founded in 1989 as the North Carolina Supercomputing Center, features a variety of world-class, advanced supercomputing resources for universities and business.

"We are proud of the tools that permit us to do computational science," Youngblood said. The new IBM RS/6000 SP can conduct 1 billion calculations per second, which can come in handy when researchers are trying to process large amounts of data with newly developed software packages assembled by NCSC scientists. Data storage services are also available.

"What we have is big. This can take in huge chunks of data," Youngblood said.

Here are a few examples of how big the super computer really is. The machine is 180 gigabytes of power, compared to five gigabytes of power for the standard desktop computer.

"The difference between the two is something like the difference between a garden hose and a concrete drainage pipe on the side of the road," said Kathleen Collins, manager of customer relations at the NCSC.

The NCSC already has a history of helping biotechnology companies. In 1993, NCSC helped a fledgling Trimeris Inc. of Durham select computer hardware and assemble a computational chemistry package. NCSC also provided training to help the company's staff learn how to use the new system.

NCSC is looking for similar collaborations with the state's biotechnology industry.

COPYRIGHT 2000 North Carolina Biotechnology Center
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