• 20130719_supercomputer0719
    Permalink Gallery

    Tulsa’s New Tandy Community Supercomputer Gets First Real-World Test

Tulsa’s New Tandy Community Supercomputer Gets First Real-World Test

A local researcher this month was the first to complete a project on Tulsa’s new community supercomputer, which can crunch massive amounts of data in minutes rather than hours or days. On July 3, Brek Wilkins, a post-doctoral research associate at Oklahoma State University’s Center for Health Sciences, was able to refine a software technology he developed that will predict the onset of a heart attack within minutes.

Because the supercomputer is able to conduct calculations at a rate more than 100 times faster than a desktop computer, Wilkins said he was also able to complete calculations from 24-hour EKG data – impossible on his desktop computer – in about five minutes. “But what’s most exciting is the ability to use the Tandy supercomputer to help us refine OSU-CHS research at more advanced stages and turn it into commercial technologies that individuals can use,” Wilkins said. He has been working on the project with Bruce Benjamin, the Center for Health Sciences’ interim vice provost of graduate programs. Benjamin said that if a patient is diagnosed early and begins treatment early, a catastrophic event such as a heart attack can often be prevented. “By utilizing the Tandy Supercomputer, we can conduct the research necessary to develop this technology so that we can begin diagnosing and treating these patients much earlier,” he said.

The supercomputer can handle tons of data with its 1,600 processing cores, performing more than 35 trillion calculations per second. And its size shows it. “It’s got it’s own floor at City Hall,” OSU-Tulsa spokesman Sean Kennedy said. Dedicated May 23, the $3.5 million Tandy Community Supercomputer was funded with $2 million from the A.R. and Marylouise Tandy Foundation and $800,000 from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. It is open to local universities, corporations, small businesses and entrepreneurs and can be used for all kinds of research. The supercomputer is […]

July 19th, 2013|News|0 Comments

OSU in Tulsa researchers complete first project on Tandy Community Supercomputer

Researchers from Oklahoma State University in Tulsa were the first to utilize the new Tandy Community Supercomputer in Tulsa, crunching data in minutes rather than hours or days.

Dr. Brek Wilkins, a post-doctoral research associate at OSU Center for Health Sciences, used the supercomputer on July 3 to refine a software technology he has developed as a result of his dissertation research to predict the onset of heart attacks.

The supercomputer is able to conduct calculations at a rate more than 100 times faster than a desktop computer. For Wilkins, that meant computations that normally take 20-30 minutes were finished in less than a minute. Wilkins was also able to complete calculations from 24-hr EKG data that were impossible on his desktop computer in about five minutes with the Tandy supercomputer.

“The supercomputer will help in initial stages of our research projects where large amounts of data storage and processing are needed. But what’s most exciting is the ability to use the Tandy supercomputer to help us refine OSU-CHS research at more advanced stages and turn it into commercial technologies that individuals can use,” said Wilkins, whose laboratory is housed at the OSU-Tulsa Helmerich Research Center. “For example, we’ll be able to refine our research that highlights the link between sleep apnea and diseases such as hypertension, heart disease and stroke to a point where it can be included in the at-home sleep apnea monitor we are developing.”

OSU-Tulsa and OSU Center for Health Sciences President Howard Barnett praised the researchers for taking a lead role in utilizing the supercomputer for research activities that will have a lasting impact on the state’s economy.

“The researchers at OSU Center for Health Sciences and OSU-Tulsa are leading the way on innovative projects that have the potential to impact all of us in everyday applications,” said […]

July 11th, 2013|News|Comments Off