Cornell Theory Center
Encyclopedia
The Cornell University Center for Advanced Computing (CAC), housed at Franklin H.T. Rhodes Hall on the campus of Cornell University
, is one of five original centers in the National Science Foundation
's Supercomputer Centers Program. It was formerly called the Cornell Theory Center.
began work on establishing five new supercomputer
centers, including the CTC, to provide high-speed computing resources for research within the United States. In 1985, a team from the National Center for Supercomputing Applications
began the development of NSFNet
, a TCP/IP-based computer network that could connect to the ARPANET
, at the Cornell Center for Advanced Computing and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
. This high-speed network, unrestricted to academic users, became a backbone to which regional networks would be connected. Initially a 56-kbit/s network, traffic on the network grew exponentially; the links were upgraded to 1.5-Mbit/s T1s
in 1988 and to 45 Mbit/s in 1991. The NSFNet was a major milestone in the development of the Internet
and its rapid growth coincided with the development of the World Wide Web
.
In the mid 1990s, in addition to support from the National Science Foundation
, the CTC received funding from the Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Institutes of Health
, New York State, IBM Corporation, and other members of the center's Corporate Research Institute.
In 2007 the CTC was reorganized and renamed in a move designed to make its high-performance computing resources more efficient and effective for the university's researchers and to take advantage of growing opportunities for research funding. As part of the reorganization, the CAC reports directly to the Office of the Vice Provost for Research instead of being a part of the Faculty of Computing and Information Science. David Lifka, who previously served as the CTC's director of high-performance and innovative computing, became CAC Director.
Cornell Computing and Information Science is currently planning a new building to be funded by a $25 million gift from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is expected to open in 2014.
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, is one of five original centers in the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
's Supercomputer Centers Program. It was formerly called the Cornell Theory Center.
History
The CTC was established in 1985 under the direction of Nobel Laureate and supercomputing visionary Kenneth Wilson, who was a Cornell Physics professor. In 1984, the National Science FoundationNational Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
began work on establishing five new supercomputer
Supercomputer
A supercomputer is a computer at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation.Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems including quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling A supercomputer is a...
centers, including the CTC, to provide high-speed computing resources for research within the United States. In 1985, a team from the National Center for Supercomputing Applications
National Center for Supercomputing Applications
The National Center for Supercomputing Applications is an American state-federal partnership to develop and deploy national-scale cyberinfrastructure that advances science and engineering. NCSA operates as a unit of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign but it provides high-performance...
began the development of NSFNet
NSFNet
The National Science Foundation Network was a program of coordinated, evolving projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation beginning in 1985 to promote advanced research and education networking in the United States...
, a TCP/IP-based computer network that could connect to the ARPANET
ARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network , was the world's first operational packet switching network and the core network of a set that came to compose the global Internet...
, at the Cornell Center for Advanced Computing and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
. This high-speed network, unrestricted to academic users, became a backbone to which regional networks would be connected. Initially a 56-kbit/s network, traffic on the network grew exponentially; the links were upgraded to 1.5-Mbit/s T1s
Digital Signal 1
Digital signal 1 is a T-carrier signaling scheme devised by Bell Labs. DS1 is a widely used standard in telecommunications in North America and Japan to transmit voice and data between devices. E1 is used in place of T1 outside North America, Japan, and South Korea...
in 1988 and to 45 Mbit/s in 1991. The NSFNet was a major milestone in the development of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and its rapid growth coincided with the development of the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
.
In the mid 1990s, in addition to support from the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
, the CTC received funding from the Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
, New York State, IBM Corporation, and other members of the center's Corporate Research Institute.
In 2007 the CTC was reorganized and renamed in a move designed to make its high-performance computing resources more efficient and effective for the university's researchers and to take advantage of growing opportunities for research funding. As part of the reorganization, the CAC reports directly to the Office of the Vice Provost for Research instead of being a part of the Faculty of Computing and Information Science. David Lifka, who previously served as the CTC's director of high-performance and innovative computing, became CAC Director.
Achievements
The CTC/CAC have achieved a number of firsts, including being the first Dell supercomputer deployment (first Dell system to make "Top 500" supercomputer list); the first & fastest IBM Scalable POWERparallel System SP2 supercomputer deployment (serial number 1); the first parallel version of MATLAB (MultiMATLAB) designed with the MATLAB product; and the first parallel job scheduler for Windows.Cornell Computing and Information Science is currently planning a new building to be funded by a $25 million gift from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is expected to open in 2014.