Parallel Computing Infrastructure
The Collaboratory for Advanced Computing and Simulations (CACS) of Drs. Kalia, Nakano, and Vashishta consists of a parallel computing laboratory, which has 4,096-core Linux clusters, amounting to 36 million core-hours/year of dedicated computing.
CACS also has dedicated block access (3 million core-hours/year) to the Linux cluster at the Center for Advanced Research Computing (CARC) at USC.
Under the U.S. Department of Energy’s INCITE (Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment) Award, CACS has 140 million core-hours/year of computing on the 786,432-core Blue Gene/Q machine at Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) (2011-2019).
Under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Aurora Supercomputer Early Science Project (ESP) Award, CACS has dedicated access to Intel Xeon-Phi based Theta and Aurora supercomputers at ALCF (2017-2019).
Collaboration and Visualization Facilities:
- The virtual environment laboratory houses a multi-user, immersive and interactive ImmersaDesk, and stereographicequipment. The ImmersaDesk system provides interactive, stereoscopic data projection. The system includes a large, high-resolution, pivotal screen, head tracking system; eyewear kit; IR emitters; wand with a tracking sensor; and wand tracking I/O subsystem. Users are able to view, interact, and immerse themselves in the computer imagery projected on the screen.
- In addition to this, an Access grid collaboratorium has been constructed. It consists of a dedicated space with immersive audio and visualization capabilities that remotely supports tutorials, lectures, meetings, conferences, and all other forms of interactions that currently require face-to-face meetings. The collaboratorium has a large, high-resolution projection wall (18′ by 12′) and seating area of about 25′ wide and 20′ deep. Imagery on the wall is projected with ceiling-mounted projectors of sufficient brightness so that the room can operate in normal light for people to read and interact. The room has a full duplex, hands-free audio system to converse with other groups, a display computer to manage tiled display and decode video streams from other groups, a video capture computer with 4 video cards, an audio capture computer for audio coding and broadcasting, and a control computer to run software for audio gear.