The new web site, www.iiecdev.org, guides businesses in how to apply to use the supercomputer and provides ongoing technical information to those businesses using the system. This announcement comes on the heels of successful pilot projects with Indiana-based companies being completed by both universities, which provided the experience and insight necessary to open the facilities to Indiana's private sector.

The supercomputer, an IBM e1350 BladeCenter cluster capable of 20 trillion mathematical operations per second, comprises IU's Big Red and Purdue's Gold supercomputing systems. Access to the supercomputer is provided as part of the Indiana Initiative for Economic Development (IIED), a partnership designed to foster technology development and job growth in the state. A team of officials from both universities and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. oversee use of the supercomputer, which is located on the IU Bloomington campus and managed by technologists from both IU and Purdue.

Indiana businesses using the supercomputer can gain access to experienced computing professionals who are helping to drive the state's technological development. Danko Antolovic, a principal scientist with IU's Research Technologies, serves as the high performance computing industry liaison with IBM. Danko Antolovic holds a Ph.D. in physical chemistry, and has wide-ranging experience with advanced computing in industry.

"His understanding of the needs and operating pressures of industry - and his years of experience on the plant floor, in the scientific lab, and with computer science research - allows him to provide the kind of assistance Indiana companies need", stated Craig Stewart, associate dean for Research Technologies at Indiana University and chief operating officer of Pervasive Technology Labs at IU.

"At the end of this project - when the governor asks us how we assisted Indiana businesses and helped to create new, high-quality jobs for Hoosiers - we will proudly credit the expertise provided by Dr. Antolovic and others", Craig Stewart stated. "In addition, we will point to tools like this website that made it easy for businesses to use and benefit from this tremendous resource, which, without this partnership, may otherwise not have been available to Indiana businesses."