TeraGrid project awarded $150M

Computerworld - The National Science Foundation has awarded $150 million to operate and enhance the Extensible Terascale Facility, a network of research supercomputers known as TeraGrid.
The award means that researchers and educators around the U.S. will be able to access a range of computing resources that will accelerate advances in science and engineering, according to an NSF statement. TeraGrid has been used for complex data tasks such as seismic modeling and understanding dark energy.
"Many new users from a range of scientific communities will now have access to sophisticated IT applications and computational tools. Over time, these applications will be customized to the needs of the individual or community," said NSF Director Arden L. Bement Jr. in the statement.
This access will allow researchers to analyze terabytes-- trillions of bytes -- of data collected by scientific instruments, telescopes, satellites and remote sensors. TeraGrid will allow researchers to manipulate enormous data sets to gain new insights into research questions and societal problems, according to the statement.
TeraGrid, built over the past four years, is the world's largest, most comprehensive distributed cyberinfrastructure for open scientific research.
Through high-performance network connections, TeraGrid integrates high-performance computers, data resources and tools, and high-end experimental facilities around the country, the NSF said.
The new TeraGrid award includes $48 million to provide overall architecture, software integration, operations and coordination of user support. Charlie Catlett, director of the TeraGrid project at the University of Chicago and former chairman of Global Grid Forum Inc., will lead this effort. An additional $100 million will be used for operation, management and user support of TeraGrid resources at eight sites.

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