Have you seen success with this method?
In 2022, four PUIs – Missouri Western State University (MWSU), Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO), Truman State University, and Webster University in cooperation with MOREnet and the University of Missouri System Research Support Services (RSS) formed a statewide partnership, the Computational Infusion for Missouri Undergraduate Science and Engineering (CIMUSE) and applied for a grant to develop high-performance computing capacity for Missouri PIUs.
In 2023, researchers again collaborated on a similar project.
Who can attend the August planning workshop?
If you are interested and aren’t sure if someone from your institution is registered, reach out to info@more.net to learn more.
Is the workshop just for STEM faculty?
We welcome any individuals that work in higher education to attend the workshop and understand how a funded grant proposal could positively affect student learning and faculty/student research. If the data science department lives in the business college instead of Arts and Sciences, the institution can still designate them as an attendee. If the institution feels the biggest obstacle to the adoption of computationally-intensive student experiences is the impact on the campus IT infrastructure, they can designate one of their IT staff to attend the workshop. We do recommend attendees have discussed the opportunity with their institution to ensure the time spent could result in a successful grant proposal.
Who is the CIMUSE planning team?
Chip Byers (Grant PI) chip@more.net
Marcus Bond (Grant Co-PI) mbond@semo.edu
Jeff Woodford (unofficial Co-PI) jwoodford@missouriwestern.edu
What was the grant proposal produced after the first CIMUSE workshop?
Overview
We propose the construction of a high-performance computing (HPC) cluster for scientific and educational use at primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) in Missouri. Ongoing advancements in supercomputing technologies, big data and machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques have led to a merger of HPC with scientific, engineering and data science applications. Many scientific projects inevitably require access to large-scale HPC clusters, beyond what is available with personal computers, to tackle large data sets and simulations. This makes it vital for STEM students to be exposed to HPC resources and receive hands-on experience as early as possible. It is estimated that 40 percent of bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields are bestowed by PUIs, which tend to have significantly fewer resources available than graduate research institutions, and thus students tend to graduate without having any experience with computational resources beyond their personal laptops, nor the chance to participate in computationally intensive research projects. To address this, we propose establishing an HPC cluster that may be utilized by PUIs across the state of Missouri, to be used both in undergraduate coursework and to push the bounds of scientific research performed at these institutions. With this consortium, we will be able to achieve more to develop the STEM talent pool than what each individual institution is able to achieve independently.
Intellectual Merit
Our initial projects include vibronic coupling in cyclic organic molecules, astrophysical simulations of extragalactic objects, phase stability of crystalline materials, cybersecurity and genetics.
In the field of extragalactic astronomy, we will study the coevolution of black holes and their host galaxies, with particular emphasis on black hole formation and mergers, and the emission of gravitational waves. These areas are well suited to computationally intensive study, and are especially relevant given the upcoming launch of NASA’s LISA satellites, for which we will be providing detection predictions.
In the field of computational chemistry, we will study the distortion of symmetric molecules away from their high-symmetry state via the Pseudo Jahn-Teller Effect. These computations can give deep quantum-mechanical insight into the nature of molecular symmetry.
In the field of solid-state chemistry, we will use DFT plane wave calculations to generate unique insight into the anomalous thermal and magnetic behavior of hybrid organic-inorganic systems, particularly for hybrid layered perovskites. These systems are especially relevant for solar energy conversion and a transition to a carbon-free economy.
We also note that over the lifespan of the HPC (and beyond the timeframe of the CC* grant), we will push to increase the use of the HPC within our institutions and by bringing more PUIs into the consortium, which will expand the intellectual and scientific merit beyond the initial set of projects described here.
Broader Impacts
To improve STEM students’ pedagogical experience and provide them with HPC skills which will suit them well in both graduate schools and industry careers, we propose directly incorporating HPC use into the classroom: students will use HPC resources to perform computational projects, using cutting-edge data from large datasets (e.g., using cutting edge astronomical simulations and observational data).
For use in data science classes, we shall develop an open-source virtual data science lab (VDSL) to support these goals and provide a community of data science contributors to use this shared platform. We believe that a shared HPC cluster can offer unique data science educational opportunities while also being simple for instructors and students.
Finally, we propose to fill the HPC talent pipeline by offering scholarships to eligible undergraduate students to attend hands-on training on HPC systems and bring this expertise back to consortium members.
Who were the people involved in that grant proposal produced after the first CIMUSE workshop?
PI: Jeffrey Woodford, Missouri Western State University (MWSU),
Co-PI: Marcus Bond, Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO),
Co-PI: Collin DeGraf, Truman State University,
Co-PI: Xiaoyuan Suo, Webster University, and
Chip Byers, Missouri Research and Education Network (MOREnet)
What are the costs associated with attending the informational event in Columbia?
MOREnet will provide the meeting space and lunch during the day-long meeting. You or your institution will be responsible for your travel expenses to and from Columbia. If you need a sleeping room, we have discounted room rates at the Holiday Inn Executive Center and Drury Inn. Info can be found here.