Renaissance Computing Institute

labbox
laboratory= Renaissance Computing Institute
seal_

focus= disaster research, biosciences, healthcare, cyberinfrastructure
establishment = 2004
director=Daniel A Reed
deputy director=Alan Blatecky
location=Chapel Hill, NC
affiliation=University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
website=renci.org

Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) founded in 2004 as a major collaboration of Duke University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the state of North Carolina, the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) is a statewide virtual organization that brings together people in science, the arts and humanities, business and government to address today's most challenging problems. By applying technological expertise and world-class computing, visualization, networking and data resources to these issues, RENCI is creating a collaborative problem-solving environment to spur economic growth and lead to discoveries that will transform the 21st century.

Collaboration and multidisciplinary teamwork are the hallmarks of RENCI activities. Our research crosses academic domains and university campuses. Our “renaissance teams” include academics and government officials, scientists and artists, research engineers, and visualization and cyberinfrastructure specialists who use expertise from industry, government, education, and community groups. Team members work together to find solutions to problems that affect the quality of life and the economic vitality of North Carolina, our nation and our world.

Key focus areas

Disaster Planning and Response

Atmospheric and marine scientists, hydrologists, computer scientists and government emergency managers work collaboratively through RENCI to improve our ability to plan for, respond to, and mitigate severe storms, floods and other natural disasters that take a heavy toll on our communities. RENCI's high-resolution simulations combine storm surge, hydrological and atmospheric models to provide emergency managers with more detailed and accurate information about potential disasters. The models also serve researchers seeking a better understanding of severe storms, coastal environments, climate change and the impacts of urbanization. New Web portals amass data from a multitude of sources into one easy-to-use interface. Sensor deployment projects and experimental disaster response equipment help front-line teams make informed decisions quickly during emergencies.

[http://www.renci.org/focusareas/disaster/ RENCI Disaster Research]

Biosciences and healthcare

Sensors that collect real-time vital statistics from hospital patients, sensors that monitor chronic conditions, and algorithms that integrate patient health statistics with environmental data to predict potential health crises could save lives and reduce healthcare costs. RENCI works with medical researchers to develop technology tools and the supporting cyberinfrastructure to better manage chronic diseases and better monitor ICU patients so that changes in their conditions can be spotted quickly. RENCI also partners with researchers in molecular biology, genomics, proteomics, and related fields to develop interdisciplinary cyberinfrastructure for studying the genetic causes of diseases.

[http://www.renci.org/focusareas/biosciences/ RENCI Biosciences and Medicine]

Mission

Focused on North Carolina, Leading the Nation

RENCI expertise in multidisciplinary computing makes it a key contributor to important national initiatives designed to enable breakthrough scientific research.
*RENCI research in performance monitoring and evaluation, fault tolerance and recovery, and optimization help scientists take full advantage of world-class computing resources, including major systems funded through the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.
*RENCI plays a role in major national projects to develop the cyberinfrastructure that will enable new scientific discoveries, including the NSF TeraGrid project, Linked Environments for Atmospheric Discovery (LEAD), the Open Science Grid (OSG), and the Performance Evaluation Research Institute (PERI).
*RENCI Director Dan Reed is a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), which advises the president on technology and scientific research priorities.
*RENCI is home to North Carolina's most powerful research computing resources, including a Dell cluster capable of 28 trillion calculations per second (28 teraflops) and an 11.4 teraflop IBM Blue Gene cluster. These systems help RENCI and UNC scientists conduct research in many fields, such as molecular biology, genomics, chemistry, and environmental sciences.
*With funding from the Triangle Universities Center for Advanced Studies, Inc., RENCI is developing strategies that push data management, retrieval and analysis capabilities to new levels to meet the growing needs of Triangle area researchers.
*RENCI's distributed visualization resources include display walls capable of presenting data at more than seven times the resolution of a high-definition TV, stereoscopic displays to visualize storms, biological processes and other phenomena in 3D, and social computing facilities that allow people to share data and communicate in virtual worlds and over long distances. Seven RENCI visualization labs across North Carolina are linked via the North Carolina Research and Education Network.

Our Vision: to spark new interdisciplinary approaches to research and problem solving through dynamic collaborations that bring together creative people and world-class computing, visualization, data, and networking technologies. The problems we address change from year to year, but our approach will remain consistent: Work with the best minds in science, business, government, education, the arts and humanities; contribute our expertise in computing, distributed and collaborative technologies, device prototyping and communication technologies; expedite change and new approaches to research and problem solving, rather than supply services. We are a catalyst to inspire the innovators. We seize new opportunities, change direction as needed, and believe that all our work should affect larger audiences through:

*Economic development initiatives. RENCI is committed to partnering with businesses and entrepreneurs on commercialization opportunities related to its projects and on helping businesses use technology and IT infrastructure to update their business practices, bring products to market quicker and compete in the global economy.
*Prototyping new ideas. Many RENCI projects are experimental, involving novel methods of collecting and analyzing data, new devices and applications. We start the process, show that a new approach is viable and work out the bugs—paving the way for industry, government and others to adopt our innovations into practical use.
*Outreach. RENCI believes its projects must have an impact well beyond academics, business leaders and government officials. Our outreach efforts strive to put the tools of the knowledge age into the hands of all citizens so they can prosper in the global economy.
*Arts, humanities and social science projects. RENCI explores how technology and computing influence how we create and experience our world by supporting multimedia and interactive artwork, digital respositories that preserve our history and heritage and new interfaces that allow us to share our cultures and experiences.

RENCI Engagement Centers

*RENCI at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill)
*RENCI at North Carolina State University (Raleigh)
*RENCI at Duke University (Durham)
*RENCI at East Carolina University (Greenville)
*RENCI at University of North Carolina, Asheville (Asheville)
*RENCI at University of North Carolina, Charlotte (Charlotte)