The University of Idaho, home of the Vandals, is Idaho’s land-grant, national research university. From its residential main campus in Moscow, U of I serves the state of Idaho through educational centers in Boise, Coeur d’Alene and Idaho Falls, nine research and Extension centers, plus Extension offices in 42 counties. Home to more than 12,000 students, U of I is a Carnegie R1 research institution and a leader in student-centered learning while exceling at interdisciplinary research, service to businesses and communities, and in advancing citizenship and global outreach. U of I competes in athletics in the Big Sky and Western Athletic conferences.
U of I is proud to be a founding charter associate of IRON and a partner in broadband expansion throughout Idaho. IRON plays a critical role in U of I’s success through
- Facilitating teaching, learning, research, service and extension education across the state and beyond
- Connecting our main Moscow campus with our education centers (Boise, Idaho, Falls) , research centers and extension offices. U of I has the broadest use of IRON, connecting our statewide presence and supporting our land-grant mission and research enterprise.
- Connecting our researchers to U of I-managed supercomputing resources at Idaho National Laboratory and a myriad of research partners
Falcon
Falcon is an SGI ICE X supercomputer currently operated and used by a consortium of Idaho research universities (University of Idaho, Boise State University, Idaho State University). Falcon is owned by Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and ranked 97th on the Top 500 list of the world’s fastest supercomputers when it was operationalized in 2014 and significantly upgraded in 2017. Through a Memorandum of Understanding (January 2022), management and use of Falcon was transferred to the Idaho research computing consortium.
Falcon uses Globus for moving large research datasets to/from Idaho’s Universities and beyond across IRON and Internet2. This is the main mechanism for researchers to get their data into and out of Falcon and ties directly into IRON and its mission/infrastructure. Here are just a few examples:
- Using Falcon for Nuclear Salts: The Falcon supercomputer is being used by scientists like John Russell, Associate Director for University of Idaho’s Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES), to work on the fundamental physics behind new molten salt technologies. These are advanced nuclear technologies capable of generating efficient electrical energy.
- Falcon Helps to Create 3D Models Of Water Flow Through Sediment: The Falcon supercomputer’s speed and efficiency enable the Center for Ecohydraulics Research to create detailed 3D models of water flow through sediment. The supercomputer allows researchers to go finer and deeper into their calculations and explorations of flow behavior.
- Simulating Colliding Black Holes Using Falcon: The Falcon supercomputer is used to simulate the collision of black holes in space. As two black holes orbit, they emit gravitational waves that carry energy keeping them apart. The supercomputer helps simulate this process, including the potential for the black holes to spiral towards each other and merge.
- Falcon Workshop: The website also provides information about a hands-on workshop where research computing experts guide participants on how to use the Falcon Supercomputer for their specific research.
- Falcon Supercomputer Now Available to U of I Researchers: Falcon, a supercomputer offering more than 10 times the processing power of any academic cluster in the region, is now available for use by University of Idaho faculty, staff, and student researchers.
- Idaho Universities Gain Access to INL Supercomputer: Students and faculty at Idaho’s three public research universities now have access to one of the nation’s fastest academic supercomputers thanks to an agreement signed in January. The supercomputer is housed at the Idaho National Laboratory.
