New Mexico Tech Connects To Supercomputer

By John Larson

SOCORRO – New Mexico Tech was one of eight universities to be connected to the state’s supercomputer, Encanto, Monday, giving students and researchers access to one the most powerful computers in the world.
In a computer classroom in Tech’s computer center in Speare Hall, professors, researchers and students gathered to be part of the inaugural linkup with Encanto, featuring a live video conference with Gov. Bill Richardson and other state officials, including New Mexico Tech President Dan Lopez.
Professor Lorie Liebrock, chair of the Computer Science and Engineering Department, told the Mountain Mail the Supercomputer’s 3-D capabilities will be used for research, educational activities, training, and business modeling in the areas of energy, environment, digital film, aerospace, and biotechnology, among others.
“Economic development is also priority for the Supercomputer’s use,” Liebrock said. “This involves local Socorro businesses as well as statewide.”
She said Encanto uses 28,700 gigabytes of memory - compared to a typical home computer’s two-to-four gigabytes - and can perform 172 trillion calculations per second.
“One of the Supercomputer’s most important capabilities will be to create 3-D graphics, allowing the student or researcher to understand a concept or exercise easier,” Liebrock said. “Another very exciting application will be to study water flow in New Mexico, which could benefit local agriculture. Climate change is another area that can be modeled three dimensionally.”
In a prepared statement, Richardson said these initial “gateway” sites will be utilized by the universities and local businesses that need high performance computing for design and modeling purposes.
“The opening of these Supercomputer gateways is significant to New Mexico’s economic and high-tech future,” Richardson said. “We’re bringing the highest level of supercomputing to every corner of the state, giving New Mexicans the opportunity to tap in to its remarkable educational and economic possibilities.”
He said economic possibilities included the film industry, and that movies like “Avatar,” which relied heavily on computer animation could easily be handled by the Supercomputer.
The Supercomputer is housed at Intel in Rio Rancho at the New Mexico Computing Applications Center.
The founding institutions for the Center are New Mexico Tech, University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, and Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories.
“We now have the fastest publicly available computer in the world to aid in our research and planning,” Tech President Dan Lopez said. “There are many important environmental challenges, such as the new energy grid, that will make much more significant progress with the Supercomputer.”
That confidence was supported by Jami Grindatto, Director of Corporate Affairs at Intel for the Southwestern U.S., who spoke during the live video hook-up Monday.
“The Supercomputer will provide remarkable new educational opportunities in high performance computing throughout the state at the Gateway sites," Grindatto said. "This network of sites gives supercomputer access to all New Mexicans and will help create the high-tech workforce of the future.”
The other seven gateway sites include UNM, NMSU, Eastern New Mexico University, Western New Mexico University, Santa Fe Community College, San Juan College, New Mexico Military Institute, and Eastern New Mexico University at Roswell.

Top photo: Tech officials and professors are joined through a video link with the governor and participating universities at Speare Hall Monday.
Photo by John Larson.

Lower photo:Those attending the “Connect New Mexico” event Monday were treated to a video showcasing the 3-D capabilities of the supercomputer, Encanto.
Photo Courtesy of New Mexico Tech.

New Mexico Tech Connects To Supercomputer