Apon Elected National Chair of the CASC

Amy Apon, professor of computer science and computer engineering and director of the Arkansas High Performance Computing Center, has been elected as the 2011 chair of the Coalition for Academic Scientific Computation, a national organization of academic high-performance computing centers and government laboratories. The announcement was made this week at SC10, the premier annual international conference on high-performance computing, networking, data and analysis.

Apon was vice chair in 2009 and 2010. Other officers for this year include past chair Stan Ahalt of the University of North Carolina, vice chair Dave Lifka of Cornell University, treasurer Dan Katz of the University of Chicago, and secretary Curt Hillegas of Princeton University. Washington liaison for the coalition is Sue Fratkin.

Founded in 1989, the Coalition for Academic Scientific Computation is an educational nonprofit organization with more than 60 member institutions representing the nation’s most forward-thinking universities and scientific computing centers. The organization advocates the use of advanced computing technology to accelerate scientific discovery for national competitiveness, global security and economic success. It also seeks to develop a diverse and prepared workforce.

As director of the Arkansas High Performance Computing Center, Apon and colleagues assembled Red Diamond, the state’s first supercomputer, which at the time was listed as the 379th most powerful computer in the world. Since that time, Apon and the center’s staff have continued to improve facilities and function. In 2008, a different supercomputer, Star of Arkansas, made the Top 500 list at No. 339.

Today, the Arkansas High Performance Computing Center supports research in computer science, integrated nanoscience, computational chemistry, computational biomagnetics, materials science and spatial science. The center collaborates with the University of Arkansas’ Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies. Access to resources by users across the state and beyond is enabled by the Arkansas Research and Education Optical Network, which connects all public, four-year colleges and universities in the state.