IBM donates system to Penn State to advance AI research

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — IBM will donate a system based on the technology in the world’s most powerful supercomputers

Jenni Evans IBM

Officials from Penn State and IBM announced on April 1 that the company will donate a system based on the technology behind the world’s most powerful supercomputers. Doug Balog, general manager of client success for IBM Storage (left); Jenni Evans, director of Penn State’s Institute for CyberScience and professor of meteorology and atmospheric science (middle); and Neil Sharkey, vice president for research, Penn State, attended the announcement.   IMAGE: JORDAN FUTRICK

Matt Swayne
April 24, 2019

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — IBM will donate a system based on the technology in the world’s most powerful supercomputers, Summit and Sierra, to Penn State, giving researchers a chance to work with the same computing architecture that handles research studies at the government’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

According to Jenni Evans, director of Penn State’s Institute for CyberScience and professor of meteorology and atmospheric science, the gift will give Penn State researchers the opportunity to write and test code related to artificial intelligence and machine learning applications. Researchers may also optimize codes before they use the national labs’ supercomputers.

“We want to make sure Penn State researchers have the power and resources to manage larger and more complex data sets and take on more enhanced analysis, which is why we are particularly happy about this gift from IBM,” said Evans. “Modeled after the Summit supercomputer, this system’s design lends itself well to artificial intelligence and machine learning applications, which are growing in importance for Penn State researchers and for our own ICS team.”

Read the full article in Penn State News:

IBM donates system to Penn State to advance AI research