UW to build supercomputer on campus

The University of Wyoming is getting access to a portion of the supercomputer that the National Center for Atmospheric Research is building in Cheyenne, but it’s also building it’s own smaller supercomputer on campus.

Bryan Shader is the special assistant to the vice president of research and economic development at UW. He says the campus supercomputer will be faster and more powerful than the computing systems the university has now.

“It’s like going from your old camera to a newer camera that has higher resolution,” Shader said. “All of a sudden you can make better pictures, and you can see things in finer detail.”

Shader says the campus supercomputer will be available for projects in all fields – ranging from mathematics to zoology, whereas the NCAR computer is reserved for atmospheric and climate research.

He adds that it’s important for students to learn how to use state-of-the-art computing technology.

The system is expected to be up and running for the fall semester.