Bloomington, IN — The Pervasive Technology Institute at Indiana University has been awarded nearly $700,000 from the National Science Foundation to fund the Jetstream cloud computing system’s sixth project year. This brings the total of NSF funding for Jetstream to nearly $14.5M. These funds will allow for a seamless transition from Jetstream to Jetstream2, recently funded by the NSF at $10M, creating continuity for the many researchers and students who rely on Jetstream for their cloud computing needs.
Jetstream began in 2014 as the NSF’s first production science and engineering cloud system, and has offered cloud-based, on-demand computing and data analysis resources to researchers in disciplines ranging from computer science to literary studies through the national eXtreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE).
Jetstream is a resource for students whose access to high-performance computing power would otherwise be limited. Here, two students confer on a project as part of the IU’s annual Jetstream Research Experience for Undergraduates.
Jetstream is programmable cyber-infrastructure that users can reconfigure to suit their needs. Jetstream was built so that scientists with no batch programming experience could use it, and so that those with more technical skill can reconfigure the resource for their purposes. It gives researchers access to a powerful cloud-based environment through virtual machines, letting them access NSF computing systems from their personal computers, and even from tablets.
In this way, Jetstream has become a valuable resource for educators and students alike whose access to this kind of computing power would otherwise be limited. Jetstream is also part of the COVID-19 HPC Consortium, offering resources in support of research related to understanding and tackling the global pandemic.
Providing reliable and scalable services to the research and education community are core to the mission of Jetstream and Jetstream2. We’re grateful that the NSF supports our desire to provide continuity between these unique projects.
David Y. Hancock, Jetstream and Jetstream2 principal investigator, IU director for advanced cyber-infrastructure
“Providing reliable and scalable services to the research and education community are core to the mission of Jetstream and Jetstream2. We’re grateful that the NSF supports our desire to provide continuity between these unique projects,” said David Y. Hancock, Jetstream and Jetstream2 principal investigator and director for Advanced Cyberinfrastructure in University Information Technology Services (UITS).
Over the last six years, Jetstream has become valuable to its many users. It is critical that its users have continued access to Jetstream while its successor, Jetstream2, is put into production. Though Jetstream2’s official start date is October 1, 2020, the resource will not be available until summer 2021.
About the Indiana University Pervasive Technology Institute
The IU Pervasive Technology Institute is a collaborative organization designed to marshal IU’s computational experts and resources quickly in response to societal, research, and educational needs. In partnership with UITS, IU PTI also led the original Jetstream award. IU PTI was established in 1999 by a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment and has continued to lead productive uses and applications of research technologies for over 20 years.
