System will be housed within the university’s ASCEND Center
(UCBJ) – Tennessee Tech University is expanding its role in advanced computing and scientific discovery with the launch of GENESIS, a high-performance computing cluster designed to accelerate large-scale research applications, strengthen workforce development and support technology-driven economic growth across Tennessee.
University leaders say GENESIS will become Tennessee Tech’s largest scientific instrument and will strengthen the university’s research capacity across disciplines. The system will be housed within the university’s ASCEND Center, Tennessee Tech’s flagship hub for high-performance computing, artificial intelligence infrastructure and advanced networking research.
Built on 27 advanced server nodes powered by 108 AMD Instinct MI300A accelerated processing units, GENESIS can perform more than 13 quadrillion calculations per second.
Officials say the system will support research in areas including engineering simulation, AI and machine learning, cybersecurity and threat analysis, environmental modeling, smart manufacturing, data analytics and visualization, and materials science.
University leaders say the investment positions Tennessee Tech to compete more aggressively for federal research funding while continuing to build partnerships that translate research into economic growth opportunities across the state.
“In the AI era, research universities that build world-class computing capacity will help define the future of innovation,” said John Liu, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at Tech. “GENESIS represents a strategic investment in Tennessee Tech’s future, attracting top faculty and students and research funding that will elevate Tennessee Tech’s national research profile – while also creating new opportunities for Tennessee students to develop advanced skills and pursue high-impact careers in AI and emerging technologies.”
The ASCEND Center was established to advance Tennessee Tech’s research capabilities in high-performance computing, AI infrastructure and extreme-scale networking. University officials say the center also supports workforce development, industry collaboration and national research partnerships while positioning the university as a leader in advanced computing infrastructure.
“High-performance computing makes AI possible,” said Anthony Skjellum, ASCEND Center director and professor of computer science. “GENESIS offers our researchers the ability to work directly with a world-class compute system that equips them to win major federal grants, attract outstanding doctoral students and become go-to partners for national laboratories and industry leaders.”
Officials say systems like GENESIS allow researchers to process and analyze enormous datasets far beyond the capabilities of traditional computing systems. The system’s unified-memory architecture and high-bandwidth design are intended to support increasingly complex AI and simulation workloads while reducing many of the limitations associated with conventional computing platforms.
Image courtesy of Tennessee Tech
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