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| Purdue's New Envision Center to Produce World-Class Research Using SGI's Visualization Technology |
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SGI Company logo. (PRNewsFoto)[TC] MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA USA | |||
Purdue's Gary Bertoline, Associate Vice President for Discovery Resources in
Information Technology, Honored with SGI Innovator Award
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Purdue
University, world-renowned for its science, engineering and technology
disciplines, recently celebrated the grand opening of its immersive,
multidisciplinary, virtual reality lab. Named the Envision Center for Data
Perceptualization and powered by the unsurpassed visualization technology of
Silicon Graphics Inc. (NYSE: SGI), the new Envision Center will enable Purdue
to tackle the world's most demanding engineering, scientific and creative
challenges and more.
Purdue University's Envision Center for Data Perceptualization
On April 12, 2004, Purdue University held the grand opening of the
Envision Center for Data Perceptualization, powered by a 32-processor Silicon
Graphics(R) Onyx4(TM) UltimateVision(TM), and a Silicon Graphics(R) Tezro(TM)
visual workstation. This state-of-the art visualization technology from SGI is
enabling Purdue to achieve international recognition as a leading research
facility, and will allow faculty and students to produce world-class research.
The center will allow far more life-like simulation of real-world phenomena,
from storm systems to cellular life, and will help far-flung teams of
engineers to collaborate on projects from automobile design to oil
prospecting.
In recognition of his dedication and vision, Gary Bertoline, associate
vice president for discovery resources in Information Technology at Purdue,
will be presented with the SGI Innovator Award at 12 Noon on April 20th for
his efforts building this new center. "I am flattered and I am excited to
receive the SGI Innovator Award because SGI is an internationally recognized
leader in computer graphics," said Bertoline, who is also vice president of
Visualization and Research Computing at Purdue. "That has been my discipline;
my profession has always been in computer graphics, so to be honored by SGI is
quite an accomplishment."
The 5,600-square-foot Envision Center boasts a reconfigurable theater that
seats approximately 50 observers and can be set up as a 30-foot wall or as a
three-sided "cave." Fakespace, Inc., a long-time SGI partner, built the
theater. Rear projectors behind each panel display 3D data rendered by the
Onyx4 system, which is capable of managing Tera-byte sized models. The center
can use the power of the Onyx4 system to simulate exploring the surface of a
planet or walking through buildings not yet constructed.
A key feature of the center is the ability to interact with the virtual
environment using more senses than just sight and sound. Through the use of
"haptics" technology controlled with the Silicon Graphics Tezro system, Purdue
students and faculty will actually be able to manipulate and feel their
virtual models. Silicon Graphics Tezro is also used as the motion-capture
system enabling anatomical movements to be precisely tracked for ergonomic
studies and prosthetic device design or even for enhancing ballet
performances.
The Envision Center is more than just a local on-campus resource. It also
has an access grid node, linking it via the Internet to more than 200 research
and academic sites on five continents, which allows users to work
collaboratively in real-time on projects via videoconferencing. By September
2004, the Envision Center will also be part of the Teragrid, a National
Science Foundation-funded initiative to connect major research institutions
and labs around the United States via high-speed fiber. Once connected to the
Teragrid, the center will become one of the most capable facilities in the
country for the practice of computational science.
"The Envision Center is not attached to an academic department. It is
meant to be a central resource; everyone can have access to it," said
Bertoline. "That also makes it much more inter-disciplinary in nature. The
trend outside of academia is for more inter-disciplinary cooperation amongst
teams and Purdue is encouraging a similar level of interaction. All over
campus, we expect people in all the different disciplines will come and use
this facility, and I think you're going to see some exciting results from the
Envision Center."
To demonstrate to Purdue faculty the potential of the SGI(R) visualization
technology powering the Envision Center, the SGI(R) Mobile Innovation Center
(MIC) rolls onto the West Lafayette, Ind. campus today. The MIC is
supercomputing on wheels: a state-of-the-art customized 18-wheel truck
equipped with SGI's latest technology solutions for high-performance
computing, storage, and advanced visualization.
The MIC provides hands-on knowledge of how SGI's leadership in high-
performance computing (HPC) and visualization can further enhance Purdue's
scientific research. The twenty-seat on-board SGI(R) Reality Center(R)
facility powered by a SGI(R) Onyx(R) visualization system has the power
required to process and analyze data equivalent to a 100 years of worldwide
climate data or MRI data from 35,000 patients. Users can also experience the
power of the SGI(R) Altix(R) 3000 family of servers and superclusters that
combines SGI supercomputing architecture with Intel(R) Itanium(R) 2 processors
and the Linux(R) operating system.
The SGI Mobile Innovation Center is coming to a city near you.
The Mobile Innovation Center, complete with the latest cutting edge
technology, is making its way around the country. To register or view the
schedule of cities, visit the Web site http://www.sgi.com/events/mic.
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a public, doctoral-granting research university, and
Indiana's land-, sea-, and space-grant university. Founded in 1869, academic
programs include engineering, liberal arts, medical education, pharmacy and
pharmacal sciences, science, technology and veterinary medicine. Graduate
programs include the Krannert Executive Education Programs and Lafayette
Center for Medical Education. With the main campus in West Lafayette, Indiana,
the statewide university system includes five campuses and numerous teaching
and research sites. For more information, visit http://www.purdue.edu/.
Silicon Graphics | The Source of Innovation and Discovery(TM)
SGI, also known as Silicon Graphics, Inc., is the world's leader in high-
performance computing, visualization and storage. SGI's vision is to provide
technology that enables the most significant scientific and creative
breakthroughs of the 21st century. Whether it's sharing images to aid in brain
surgery, finding oil more efficiently, studying global climate or enabling the
transition from analog to digital broadcasting, SGI is dedicated to addressing
the next class of challenges for scientific, engineering and creative users.
With offices worldwide, the company is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif.,
and can be found on the Web at http://www.sgi.com.
Silicon Graphics, SGI, Onyx, Reality Center, Altix, the SGI cube and the
SGI logo are registered trademarks and Tezro, UltimateVision, Onyx4, and The
Source of Innovation and Discovery are trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc.,
in the United States and/or other countries worldwide. Intel and Itanium are
registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United
States and other countries. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds
in several countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property
of their respective owners.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010510/SFTH025LOGO )
MEDIA CONTACT
Marla Robinson
Marlar@sgi.com
256.864.3426
SGI PR HOTLINE
650.933.7777
SGI PR FACSIMILE
650.933.0283
SOURCE Silicon Graphics Inc.
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CONTACT:
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