ARMONK, NY and LAKELAND, FL — Florida Polytechnic University, Flagship Solutions Group and IBM have announced a new supercomputing center at the University composed of IBM high performance systems, software and cloud-based storage, to help educate students in emerging technology fields.
Florida Polytechnic University is the newest addition to the State University System of Florida and the only one dedicated exclusively to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Florida Polytechnic University held a public LAUNCH Celebration on August 16, 2014, welcomed its inaugural class of 500 students.
The center, which is being developed with the support of premier IBM Business Partner Flagship Solutions, will house an IBM supercomputer and is designed to provide students with an opportunity to receive hands-on training and experience using high performance computing systems. The supercomputing center will support concentrations at Florida Polytechnic University such as Cybersecurity, Big Data and Analytics, Cloud Virtualization and other engineering and computer science emphases, as well as being harnessed for research projects led by faculty members and graduate students.
The announcement builds on another recent IBM announcement of new collaboration with 28 Universities and Business Schools to help train tomorrow’s data scientists. Florida Polytechnic University intends to work with IBM’s Academic Initiative, which includes a network of more than 30,000 unique partnerships between IBM and higher education professionals to help advance curriculum in areas such as Big Data and Analytics, Cloud Computing, Security and Social Business.
“Florida Polytechnic University’s STEM-based mission is directly aligned with the business models of IBM and Flagship, and it has been very satisfying to work with the leadership at those two firms to make the Supercomputer happen on an expeditious timeline,” said Tom Hull, Vice President and CIO for Florida Polytechnic University. “After considering the mission of the University, I realized that an IBM Supercomputer Complex could satisfy our need for a High Performance Computing center and a Student Data Center for both our curriculum and applied research at a high level. The highly technical talent at Flagship and IBM has been instrumental in helping enhance the idea of a Supercomputer at Florida Polytechnic University. We have architected a complex that will enable the technical ambitions and programs of this new University.”
Florida Polytechnic University is the 12th state-sponsored university in Florida and the only one focused entirely on STEM education and research. Upon opening in August, Florida Polytechnic University will have two colleges, six undergraduate degree programs, two master’s programs and 19 cutting-edge concentrations. To help form its Cybersecurity concentration curriculum, Florida Polytechnic University faculty met with members of the IBM Academic Initiative program to discuss the skills and topics required to best prepare its students for an age of ever-increasing cyber-threats.
“Florida Polytechnic University is a leading example of how universities can take the latest technologies and place them into the hands of students to prepare them for Florida’s technology workforce,” said Tom Mitchell, VP of Sales and Marketing, Flagship Solutions. “Flagship Solutions worked closely with the University to understand their grand vision to deliver on STEM initiatives and working together with IBM, found the best HPC technologies for the school to fulfill its plans.”
The 2,500-square-foot supercomputing center is located at the heart of campus, enclosed in glass rooms so students, faculty and visitors can observe the work being done with the systems. The supercomputer consists of five racks of systems that include nearly 1,000 core processors, IBM software defined storage technology — code name Elastic Storage — that manages more than 150 terabytes of data, 3.072 terabytes of online memory, and Platform Computing software to maximize prioritized job scheduling and utilization.
About Florida Polytechnic University
Florida Polytechnic University is the state’s 12th public university and the newest member of the State University System of Florida. Dedicated exclusively to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), the University blends applied research with industry partnerships to give students an academically rigorous education with real-world relevance. The campus, located in Lakeland, FL along the I-4 High Tech Corridor, opens for classes on August 25, 2014.
About Flagship Solutions Group
Flagship Solutions Group provides IBM solutions, managed services and cloud solutions worldwide. These include hardware and software products, data center strategic planning and hybrid cloud implementations based on a wide range of assessments that look at virtualization, server consolidation, security, and infrastructure-focused integration.
