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Construction of supercomputer data center to begin spring of 2010 [Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne]
[August 01, 2009]

Construction of supercomputer data center to begin spring of 2010 [Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne]


(Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, WY) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 1--CHEYENNE -- For the first time, an approximate timeline has been set and announced for the construction of a supercomputer data center here.

The facility will be built by a partnership between the National Science Foundation, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the state of Wyoming and the University of Wyoming.

It will house one of the fastest computers in the world and staff between 30 and 50 people who will study climate, weather and other atmospheric processes.

Original tentative plans called for the construction to begin as early as this fall. But that has been pushed back to spring of 2010.

New plans call for the construction to be complete by the summer of 2011, contingent upon the approval process.

But before the facility can become operational, the computers themselves must be installed as well as software, servers, security and data storage. And it all must be tested, said Krista Laursen, project director.

It is expected to be operational by late 2011 or early 2012.

Hiring likely will take place during the construction process, Laursen added, but exactly when is still being discussed.

"(The timeline) gives us a clear path for how the project is going to be advancing in the next several months," she said. "It gives us a set of milestones to target for moving the project ahead." The state has committed $20 million to the $80 million project, said Rob Black, a spokesman for Gov. Dave Freudenthal.



"The National Science Foundation has been very methodical in their planning," Black said, adding that pushing back the date for construction is just part of the process.

"(Having a timeline) is very exciting because this is such a meaningful project to the state's economic diversity." The facility will create high-tech jobs in the state, boost the UW's profile in research, draw visitors to Cheyenne and possibly create other high-tech, high-paying jobs here.


"It's a big step forward in bring a state-of-the-art facility to Wyoming," Black said.

Plus, it could be a magnet for high-tech industry here in the future.

To see more of Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wyomingnews.com/.

Copyright (c) 2009, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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