UOIT, computing network partners celebrate $10.9-million announcement
September 27, 2006
A $10.9-million provincial funding announcement made last Friday is providing a significant boost to a leading-edge Ontario-based research computing network that includes UOIT.
At a press conference held at the University of Western Ontario on Friday, September 22, MPP Chris Bentley, Ontario Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, on behalf of Premier Dalton McGuinty, Minister of Research and Innovation, announced a significant investment in the Shared Hierarchical Academic Research Computing Network (SHARCNET) through the Ontario Research Fund to support 1,200 researchers across the province. Partner institutions are collaborating by housing local computer clusters, which together operate as a private high-speed wide area network with a throughput of 1 Gigabit per second, to provide high-performance computing resources to researchers across Ontario.
SHARCNET supports some of Canada's pre-eminent academics in a variety of fields, from strategies to combat mad cow disease to developing new models for managing financial risk. UOIT researchers are using the network in many ways, including research by computational chemist Dr. Fedor Naumkin on the molecular-based design of novel nanomaterials.
"Our SHARCNET membership, in place since UOIT's launch in 2003, is another example of the benefits derived from our extensive partnerships in both the business community and in the broad academic community," said Dr. William Smith, dean of the UOIT Faculty of Science, who was in London for the announcement. "The benefits to UOIT's researchers are limitless. SHARCNET not only provides access to world-class computational capabilities, but also acts as a catalyst to synergize collaborative research opportunities with our network partners. For example, SHARCNET infrastructure is planned to be a significant factor in UOIT's proposed joint Master of Science program with new SHARCNET member Trent University. The interdisciplinary Materials Science program is currently undergoing evaluation by the Ontario government and we hope to enroll students in September 2007."
The network's state-of-the-art, high-performance computing facilities are hundreds or thousands of times faster than a regular desktop computer, which means a researcher using SHARCNET can produce results in a single day that would normally take a year or more on a personal computer.
UOIT is one of 16 research institutions in the network, which also includes the universities of Western Ontario, Guelph, McMaster, Wilfrid Laurier, Windsor, Waterloo, Brock, York, Laurentian, Trent, and Lakehead, along with Fanshawe and Sheridan colleges, the Perimeter Institute and the Ontario College of Art and Design.
"Interdisciplinary research and partnerships such as SHARCNET are intimately connected with UOIT's mission to undertake research and development that directly benefits society," said Dr. Kamiel Gabriel, associate provost of Research at UOIT.
Adds Dr. Smith, "They also provide our students with unique opportunities to work alongside professors and gain valuable hands-on and real-world research experience." For example, SHARCNET provides key infrastructure for UOIT's new Master of Science program in Modelling and Computational Science, which will enroll its first students in September 2007 (please visit science.uoit.ca and click on Graduate Studies for details).
The $550-million Ontario Research Fund is designed to provide Ontario researchers with the resources to lead the province into a new era of innovation.
"Supporting successful research at Ontario's post-secondary institutions strengthens the quality of research talent that enters the workforce," said Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. "Our government knows that success means more highly skilled people working in a more robust and productive economy."
At a press conference held at the University of Western Ontario on Friday, September 22, MPP Chris Bentley, Ontario Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, on behalf of Premier Dalton McGuinty, Minister of Research and Innovation, announced a significant investment in the Shared Hierarchical Academic Research Computing Network (SHARCNET) through the Ontario Research Fund to support 1,200 researchers across the province. Partner institutions are collaborating by housing local computer clusters, which together operate as a private high-speed wide area network with a throughput of 1 Gigabit per second, to provide high-performance computing resources to researchers across Ontario.
SHARCNET supports some of Canada's pre-eminent academics in a variety of fields, from strategies to combat mad cow disease to developing new models for managing financial risk. UOIT researchers are using the network in many ways, including research by computational chemist Dr. Fedor Naumkin on the molecular-based design of novel nanomaterials.
"Our SHARCNET membership, in place since UOIT's launch in 2003, is another example of the benefits derived from our extensive partnerships in both the business community and in the broad academic community," said Dr. William Smith, dean of the UOIT Faculty of Science, who was in London for the announcement. "The benefits to UOIT's researchers are limitless. SHARCNET not only provides access to world-class computational capabilities, but also acts as a catalyst to synergize collaborative research opportunities with our network partners. For example, SHARCNET infrastructure is planned to be a significant factor in UOIT's proposed joint Master of Science program with new SHARCNET member Trent University. The interdisciplinary Materials Science program is currently undergoing evaluation by the Ontario government and we hope to enroll students in September 2007."
The network's state-of-the-art, high-performance computing facilities are hundreds or thousands of times faster than a regular desktop computer, which means a researcher using SHARCNET can produce results in a single day that would normally take a year or more on a personal computer.
UOIT is one of 16 research institutions in the network, which also includes the universities of Western Ontario, Guelph, McMaster, Wilfrid Laurier, Windsor, Waterloo, Brock, York, Laurentian, Trent, and Lakehead, along with Fanshawe and Sheridan colleges, the Perimeter Institute and the Ontario College of Art and Design.
"Interdisciplinary research and partnerships such as SHARCNET are intimately connected with UOIT's mission to undertake research and development that directly benefits society," said Dr. Kamiel Gabriel, associate provost of Research at UOIT.
Adds Dr. Smith, "They also provide our students with unique opportunities to work alongside professors and gain valuable hands-on and real-world research experience." For example, SHARCNET provides key infrastructure for UOIT's new Master of Science program in Modelling and Computational Science, which will enroll its first students in September 2007 (please visit science.uoit.ca and click on Graduate Studies for details).
The $550-million Ontario Research Fund is designed to provide Ontario researchers with the resources to lead the province into a new era of innovation.
"Supporting successful research at Ontario's post-secondary institutions strengthens the quality of research talent that enters the workforce," said Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. "Our government knows that success means more highly skilled people working in a more robust and productive economy."
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