The Research Technologies/PTI Advanced Computing for Indiana Economic Development program is designed to foster technology development and job growth in the state of Indiana.

This initiative provides free access to IU supercomputers for use in economic development by Indiana-based businesses. The Research Technologies Division of UITS and Pervasive Technology Institute provides time on IU supercomputers for use by Indiana-based businesses for the purpose of economic development and innovation. The resources are configured for maximum flexibility, allowing each University to develop industry partnerships independently or in a collaborative effort.

We offer time on IU’s Quarry and Big Red supercomputers at no cost under the terms that the use will benefit Indiana’s economy and/or the business competitiveness of Indiana-based businesses. IU staff provide operational support, and in some cases research collaboration, to benefit the Indiana economy.

If you are interested in applying for an allocation of time on IU supercomputers under this program, please see the Proposal Guidelines.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q. Where did the resources for this program come from?

The origin of this program was the Indiana Initiative for Economic Development (IIED), an economic development program based on a partnership among IBM, Indiana University, Purdue University, and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC). As a result of this partnership, IU received an allocation of computing equipment that equated to many computer hours of time over the lifespan of the equipment. Not all of these hours have been used, yet, so we remain able to support Indiana-based businesses that want to experiment with and use supercomputers to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of their businesses.

Q. If we are an Indiana-based business, how do we make best use of this program?

Your company’s intended use of the resources should be in line with one or more of the objectives of the Research Technologies / PTI T Computing for Indiana Economic Development program:

• it should contribute to the growth and competitiveness of Indiana’s industry, or
• it should foster creation of high-technology jobs in Indiana, or
• hold the promise of creating new and important technologies that might create new businesses in Indiana

Q. Will IU staff help me use the IU supercomputer resources?

IU staff will be happy to work with you and help you; we cannot, however, do your work for you. We commonly offer some startup training for your staff, assistance with use of IU system, and offer assistance to your staff as they are working with the IU systems.

Q. How do we apply?

Describe your intended, and listed your technical needs, as described in the Proposal Guidelines. An IU committee will analyze your company’s request, verify your company’s eligibility, and ensure that your needs and the resources we have available match well. Once your proposal is approved, you will receive an affiliate computer account, and an allotment of the machine resources: CPU time, number of nodes, amount of storage, and so on. Technical support staff will be available to assist you in using the machine at every stage, from problem analysis to code optimization. It is expected, however, that your own technical staff will perform production-level code development for your project.

Q. What are the arrangements regarding confidentiality and intellectual property?

Indiana University has no claims on the intellectual property that your company develops independently under this program, and you acquire no rights to any part of the university’s resources. For reference, consult the sample User Agreement . Note that details may depend on the proposed use of the resources.

As a multi-user university system, the IU supercomputing environment already provides the usual system-level confidentiality and protection of user data. However, we are sensitive to the fact that the commercial environment often requires more stringent protection. Your proposal should be explicit about your confidentiality requirements, and IU will make every reasonable effort to honor them.

Q. If I work for a business that is not located in Indiana, can my company use these resources?

No, this program is intended to benefit Indiana-based businesses. IT is also generally no sufficient to have a sales representative or sales force in Indiana. The purpose of this program is to build the Indiana Economy, and quick guidelines for company eligibility are as follows: if the primary address (or primary US address) of your company is in Indiana, you certainly qualify. You also qualify if the staff who will be making use of the Research Technologies / PTI Advanced Computing for Indiana Economic Development program are physically located in Indiana. Your company may qualify with a less strong Indiana presence - to check you can send email to the Collaboration and Engagement Support group of PTI at cesg [at] iu [dot] edu.

Q. Can my use of the IU systems be kept confidential?

Under certain circumstances yes (where your business competitiveness clearly requires that). In general, however, this is a public program and we strongly prefer to be able to document our work with your company so that the value of this program to the taxpayers of Indiana.