NSF Awards $364,312 to U of A to Continue as Partner in Computing Network

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas, through a grant from the National Science Foundation, will continue to serve as a partner institution in the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment, a collection of U.S. facilities that scientists can use to interactively share computing resources, data and expertise.

The five-year, $324,312 grant will support the efforts of Jeff Pummill, director of strategic initiatives and user service for the Arkansas High Performance Computing Center, as the coordinator of the Regional Campus Champions project for the NSF-funded Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment, known as XSEDE.

Pummill was one of the original authorities on high-performance computing who were designated “Campus Champions” by XSEDE, which offers researchers access to a network of supercomputers and high-end visualization and data analysis resources across the country.

XSEDE initiated the Campus Champions Program in 2008. The program supports campus representatives as a local source of knowledge about high-performance and high-throughput computing and other digital services, opportunities and resources. This knowledge and assistance empowers campus researchers, educators, and students to advance scientific discovery. 

“Our role in the Campus Champions network has raised the profile of the University of Arkansas among the nation’s high-performance computing community,” Pummill said. “As regional coordinator, I will assist in creating and maintaining outward-looking presence associated with the program and help develop and implement best practices to minimize ramp-up time for new members of the program.”

In addition to coordinating the Regional Campus Champions, Pummill serves on the XSEDE’s User Advisory Committee and User Requirements Evaluation and Prioritization Working Group.

Pummill will coordinate with other components of XSEDE to better provide information to Campus Champions community and contribute to the development of future direction and goals of the Regional Campus Champions program.

Pummill was the architect of the Regional Campus Champions project in 2014. His involvement with XSEDE helped lead to the U of A’s acquisition of the Trestles supercomputer, which more than doubled the computational capacity of the Arkansas High Performance Computing Center.

The computing center’s mission is to meet the computational needs of the U of A community, either on campus or with supercomputers at other sites. The center supports research in about 30 academic areas across the campus, including computer science, integrated nanoscience, computational chemistry, computational biomagnetics, materials science and spatial science, among others.