A supercomputing center in Cheyenne will extend the I-25 tech corridor into southeast Wyoming, give researchers a powerful tool for studying climate, cement the University of Wyoming’s reputation in computational and geosciences, and give an overall boost to Wyoming's economic development.

National Center for Atmospheric Research

The National Center for Atmospheric Research is building a supercomputing center dedicated to key topics such as climate change, air quality and severe weather – and possible ways to mitigate them.

Once it opens, possibly in late 2011, university researchers will get 20 percent of the computational time on a world-class computer that academic and industry leaders predict will be a magnet for tech firms.

“What will happen in and around Cheyenne is that NCAR will demonstrate it, and people will want to see it and be near it,” says Bill Gern, University of Wyoming vice president of research and economic development.

Wyoming Companies Involved in Project

Landing the project was a big coup. Several universities along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains were in the running, but a partnership with Cheyenne LEADS, the state, the university, Wyoming Business Council and Cheyenne Light Fuel and Power put together a winning proposal.

“Wyoming has abundant electricity and fiber optic,” says Randy Bruns, CEO of Cheyenne LEADS. “We have a base to build around.”

NCAR needs more power because its existing supercomputing center at the Mesa Lab in Boulder is maxed out. The computational scale is mind-boggling: The existing lab can handle 15 “teraflops” per second. The new facility will boost that to 1,000 teraflops, or one quadrillion computations per second. That is a one with 15 zeroes.

Big power will help answer big questions, and when it comes to climate, plenty need solving.

“The questions that science is asking have changed dramatically,” says Lawrence Buja, a software engineer in NCAR’s climate change research section. “Before it was ‘Is climate change really occurring?’ and all the tools were built for that. Now the questions are what are the impacts, how quick are the impacts and what are our options and limitations?”

Future Plans, Advantages for Development

NCAR plans to run simulations and create four-dimensional models, the fourth being time, to help answer questions about forest ecosystems, biofuels, glacial melting and population sustainability, looking forward 100 years or so. The supercomputer’s vast power will look at such questions on a much finer scale, Buja says, down to specific communities living in the watershed of a specific glacier.

Other areas of inquiry include improved hurricane forecasting, regional wind studies for optimal turbine siting, and space weather that impacts large-scale electrical installations.

University of Wyoming scientists have some ideas of their own.

Modeling how to sequester carbon dioxide is at the top. Not only is Wyoming replete with coal, but the state also has saline aquifers at a depth to safely store carbon dioxide while it becomes “mineralized,” Gern says.

Wind research is another big target. The supercomputer will allow more precise modeling of how airflow moves on blades, information that will help boost turbine efficiency.

Wyoming already has top talent in computational science, fluid flow and porous media and is continuing to recruit, Gern says.

Building the center is expected to cost about $60 million, with a 20-year price tag that tops $500 million, including the computers, staff and upgrades.

But the impact on Wyoming's economic development may be far greater.

“Never has there been a project that has the potential to bring about as profound a change as NCAR,” Bruns says. “It really is a certification to the rest of the world about our technological capability.”