The 91̽»¨ and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on Oct. 30 will hold their first public workshop spearheaded by the institute they formed last January to foster collaborative computing research.

Based at the UW, the ‘s first public event will feature speakers from the two institutions and industry, as well as breakout sessions that explore various aspects of science and engineering technologies.

The daylong event at the UW’s is free and open to the research community with . Michael Bragg, the UW’s engineering dean, will join Steven Ashby, deputy director for science and technology at PNNL, in giving opening remarks, followed by several speakers who will explain the partnership and goals of the new institute.

The afternoon sessions are geared toward academic and industry experts. Participants can choose to attend one of six breakout sessions on topics such as cybersecurity, big data, medical records, high-performance computing, and challenges in urban science and systems. The focus will be on brainstorming issues the new center will tackle, and creating partnerships and teams to reach those goals.

“This is the first decade when the majority of people live in cities, which puts a lot of pressure on urban infrastructure,” said institute co-director , 91̽»¨chair and professor of electrical engineering. “City-based systems produce a lot of data, from medical records, electrical grids and energy usage to communication and traffic networks. We think there’s an opportunity, recognized as urban science, to optimize these systems by using computational science and engineering and data-driven discovery.”

The new institute was earlier this year, and is co-led by Jandhyala and . Dunning currently directs a computing institute and a national supercomputing center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, but will join PNNL in January to co-direct the new institute.

“The Northwest Institute for Advanced Computing offers an opportunity for two research powerhouses in Washington, 91̽»¨and PNNL, to work together to advance scientific discovery, address important societal problems, and enhance industrial competitiveness,” Dunning said. “Prof. Jandhyala and I look forward to creating an environment that fosters collaborations between 91̽»¨faculty and PNNL staff to address the most pressing challenges faced by science, society and industry.”

###

For more information, contact Jandhyala at vj@uw.edu or 206-543-2186.

“This collaboration will open up new avenues for research,” said co-director , 91̽»¨professor and chair of electrical engineering, who leads the . “We are creating an interdisciplinary place to work with colleagues at PNNL on data-intensive science and engineering.”

Co-director with Jandhyala is Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s , leader of the research division. The lab will fund the time for Jandhyala and Khaleel to lead the institute.

“The expanded partnership between 91̽»¨and PNNL will create tremendous new opportunities for both organizations,” said , professor of computer science and engineering. “Big data is transforming the process of discovery in all fields. 91̽»¨and PNNL have significant and complementary strengths.”

Lazowska leads the , created in 2008 to support data-driven discovery at the UW. Many of the roughly dozen 91̽»¨faculty who will be involved with the new group at its launch are eScience Institute affiliates.

The new institute will initially draw from the UW’s departments of Computer Science & Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Applied Math, but all 91̽»¨faculty whose work advances data-driven discovery and large-scale computing will be invited to affiliate.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory already has two scientists based at the 91̽»¨who are conducting Department of Energy research related to big data and nuclear physics. About eight more PNNL researchers are expected to join them in UW’s Sieg Hall by the end of 2013.

Other researchers will join the center but stay in their existing labs.

All institute members will have access to computational resources at both institutions including the UW’s , developed by the eScience Institute and UW-IT, and the as well as other elements of . Researchers will also make extensive use of cloud resources.

Jandhyala also hopes to develop relationships with the region’s business and startup communities.

“In the short term, we aim to promote collaboration among university and government scientists who are working with big data,” he said. “In the longer term, we hope this becomes a Northwest hub for advanced computing research.”

Initial projects will include algorithms and software for large graph analyses, smart grid simulation and encryption for cloud computing. The institute will draw on 91̽»¨expertise in computer science, engineering, applied math and natural sciences, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory expertise in designing high-performance computers and running large-scale environmental simulations.

The two institutions already collaborate on the , which is based at the national lab and includes installations in 91̽»¨buildings and residence halls.

“Together we’ll be able to do amazing things,” Lazowska said.

###

Adapted from the PNNL press release posted at .