$1.3M NSF grant to expand statewide cyberinfrastructure for researchers
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences
(ICDS), in collaboration with West Chester University (WCU) and four other institutions
in Pennsylvania, received a two-year, $1.3 million U.S. National Science Foundation
Campus Cyber Infrastructure (NSF CC*) award to build upon prior efforts to expand
the foundation for a statewide network that transforms science-driven research and
education at under-resourced or non-research institutions of higher education.
“The AI revolution has fundamentally changed the entire enterprise of research and has increased the need of advanced computing infrastructure to solve a growing number of problems,” said Guido Cervone, ICDS director. “The NSF CC* projects awarded to ICDS supports the fundamental problem that no single institution can provide the necessary computing infrastructure for this new research landscape. ICDS will lead the development of a distributed cyberinfrastructure for the commonwealth — a major achievement for the institute, and it was only possible because of the dedication and commitment of Wayne Figurelle, ICDS assistant director, who has built partnerships with other institutions in the commonwealth over many years.”
West Chester University is excited to be a collaborative partner. “This NSF investment represents a significant advancement in expanding equitable access to advanced computing and research infrastructure across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” shared West Chester University Chief Information Officer JT Singh. “By strengthening statewide collaboration and connectivity, this initiative positions West Chester University to further enhance its research capabilities, advance high-impact student learning opportunities, and support innovation that contributes meaningfully to our communities.”
WCU’s Assistant Vice President for IT Infrastructure Services Kevin Partridge agrees. "Advanced research today depends on high-performance, secure, and interconnected cyberinfrastructure,” says Partridge. “This NSF investment allows institutions across Pennsylvania to work together to build the networking foundation necessary to support data-intensive science, artificial intelligence, and collaborative research initiatives. Through the PA Science DMZ, West Chester University will be better positioned to connect researchers with the computing, storage, and data resources they need while fostering new partnerships that accelerate scientific discovery and expand opportunities for our students and faculty."
The team will expand upon an existing, secure, specialized network that will serve as a connecting point between researchers at partnering institutions and cyberinfrastructure resources. This network is referred to as a secure demilitarized zone, or DMZ, and is designed to be able to move datasets efficiently and effectively while protecting the research data collected.
The project, titled, “Research Infrastructure: CC* Regional Networking: The Pennsylvania Science DMZ supporting under-resourced colleges and universities (PA Science DMZ),” will not only provide enhanced connectivity for research and science-driven education use cases, Figurelle said, but it will also address gaps in access to high-performance computing and storage in the state. The effort also aims to build a “people network” of multi-institutional collaborations through the creation of diverse research teams that includes faculty, students, national cyberinfrastructure resources, industry and K-12.
In addition to collaborating with West Chester University, the Penn State team will expand the existing PA Science DMZ infrastructure in collaboration with researchers and cyberinfrastructure professionals at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, Allegheny College, KeystoneREN, and Three Rivers Optical Exchange (3ROX), a Pennsylvania-based research and education network that enables connectivity to the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) and other higher ed institutions.
KeystoneREN, a statewide research and education network that enables connectivity to higher ed institutions, will provide technical leadership by ensuring that partnering institutions are set up with access to the PA Science DMZ network. 3ROX will provide technical leadership to connect the PA Science DMZ to the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center compute and storage resources.
This project establishes access to technology, research and education resources while growing each campuses’ capabilities for addressing social and economic challenges occurring in different regions across the state, Figurelle said.
An example of this impact is a project that deployed multi-sensor underwater robotic units to perform long-term water quality analysis in lakes in the northwestern part of the state. The units autonomously collected and stored water-quality data from various sites in the field.
“Currently, data collection is often limited to project visits and is physically carried to their respective campuses,” Figurelle said. “The PA Science DMZ connection allows faster data transfers to cloud storage resources, reducing the reliance of local lab storage. Access to the PA Science DMZ network will facilitate external collaborations including larger and more varied environmental data sets and rich visual data for interdisciplinary analysis and sustained measurements.”
In addition to the advances that the physical network provides, Figurelle said, the people network has the potential to provide opportunities for faculty and students to conduct research and enhance education across disciplines and institutions.
“The research being done at these institutions is amazing,” Figurelle said. “We are all working with, educating and training undergraduate students. Through this project, we want to broaden the reach of scientific education and research — not only for faculty, but for undergraduates. We want to increase research and education connections and collaborations with Penn State and across Pennsylvania.”
Through the PA Science DMZ’s CyberAccelerate initiative, students and faculty attending partnering institutions and other universities or colleges across the state can participate in seminars, workshops, poster sessions and roadshows — all designed to support the project’s goals of showcasing research, connecting people, and providing access to cyberinfrastructure resources and educational opportunities. Through Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center’s ADAPT program, the project will work with partner institutions to enhance curricula, provide learning resources, and collaborate on new programs focused on the areas of data analytics and machine learning. The ADAPT program aims to give students practical workforce skills and create tools that can be used by learners across the state, including providing access to Bridges-2, one of Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center’s supercomputers.
“The PA Science DMZ project is not only an infrastructure project,” Figurelle said. “Through the CyberAccelerate initiative, we also aim to increase the potential for new collaborations through a network of peers, colleagues and students. The PA Science DMZ is designed to connect with statewide and regional partners to develop broader impact tools and programs that provide opportunities for strategic extension of advanced computing and data infrastructure, that includes breaking down barriers to collaborations in research and pedagogy across Pennsylvania institutions of higher education.”