ASU is building a supercomputer on campus designed to analyze genetic research for several diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer's disease.
The computer - a product of the partnership among ASU, IBM Life Sciences and the Translational Genomics Institute, known as T-Gen - was announced last week at the Arizona Bio Expo.
IBM will provide ASU with 512 dual-processor computers, which will be linked to act as a single supercomputer, allowing them to use the power of 1,000 desktop computers on a single task, said Francie Noyes, T-Gen media relations director. Noyes said the computers would also have the technology to operate even during power and system failures.
The first collaborative task will be to identify the genetic sequences that mark the difference between the cells of cancer patients and those of healthy people, said William Lewis, ASU vice provost of information technology.
ASU is currently constructing the computer network at a restricted site on campus, Lewis said. He estimated the network would be ready for use by mid-May.
Under the agreement, ASU will pay $5.2 million for three years to purchase the computers and provide operational support, Lewis said.
He said the T-Gen project was brought to ASU because of the university's strong biology program and the availability of space on campus.
"They did not have a facility, and they needed to get started immediately," Lewis said.
A 100-megabyte Ethernet cable will connect the facility to T-Gen, which will also have several people working on the site to oversee the research.
The computers could also play a bigger role following the opening of the Arizona Biodesign Institute in 2004, Lewis said. He added the potential advances made possible by the computer would be a boon for Arizona's reputation as a center for biology research.
"This is a way we have of getting other genomics companies to come in and work in the Valley," Lewis said.
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Reach the reporter at garrett.neese@asu.edu.
