By John Duchemin
Advertiser Staff Writer
A battle over bytes is brewing between the University of Hawai‘i and the University of New Mexico, both of which are seeking the operating contract for the Maui High Performance Computing Center and its supercomputer.
The universities have emerged as principal bidders for the four-year contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory, which conducts military projects on the supercomputer.
The University of New Mexico has managed the center since its creation in the early 1990s, helping the Air Force conduct experiments, farm out unused capacity, monitor systems and upgrade equipment.
But with the contract up for bid — proposals are due March 1, and a final Air Force decision is due in May — University of Hawai‘i is teaming with Boeing and Science Applications International Corp. in an attempt to unseat the incumbent. University of New Mexico is teaming with infotech company Litton PRC in its bid.
Experts said the contract, which maxes at $181 million, would provide no income, but would give the winner both the honor of tending one of the world’s largest, fastest computers and a chance to work with top researchers from the U.S. Department of Defense.
Both universities described the competition as an intense battle for a prestigious post.
"We cooperate with UH on many levels, but the result of this competition is a certain heightened interest in each other," said Frank Gilfeather, math professor and executive director of the University of New Mexico’s high-performance computing program. "I’m told our basketball and football teams are playing a little harder against each other because of this."
David Lassner, architect of the University of Hawai‘i proposal, described the bid process as "intensely competitive." The university has set up a "home team" Web site seeking job applications from computer programmers and promising to "take the Maui Supercomputing Center to new heights."
Lassner, director of the UH Information and Technical Services department, declined to provide details of the UH proposal.
Observers said the supercomputer contract is more administrative than research-oriented. That may have discouraged several would-be bidders, said Richard Muntz, professor of computer science at University of California at Los Angeles, who attended an Air Force information session in Kihei last fall.
"This is not like the huge National Science Foundation supercomputer centers, which can generate huge amounts of research funding, so the benefits are debatable," Muntz said. UCLA decided not to submit a bid, Muntz said.
UH’s Lassner and New Mexico’s Gilfeather disagreed. Both hinted the supercomputer would become an ideal springboard for university research. Under University of New Mexico’s guidance, Gilfeather said, the center has provided processing power for important experiments at UH and other institutions.
"This contract is a plum," said Gilfeather."
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