Innovations in Networking Award for Experimental Applications

Experimental Applications: Pacific Research Platform
Larry Smarr, Camille Crittenden, Tom DeFanti, Frank Würthwein, Phil Papadopoulos, John Graham, Eli Dart, John Hess

From biomedical data to particle physics, researchers depend heavily on high-speed access to large datasets, scientific instruments, and computing resources. To meet the needs of researchers in California and beyond, the National Science Foundation awarded a five-year grant to fund the Pacific Research Platform (PRP). The NSF proposal investigators include Larry Smarr, Tom DeFanti, Frank Würthwein, Phil Papadopoulos, (UC San Diego), and Camille Crittenden (UC Berkeley), with essential technical support from John Graham (UC San Diego), John Hess (CENIC), and Eli Dart (ESnet). The PRP’s data sharing architecture, with end-to-end 10–100 gigabits per second connections, will enable region-wide virtual co-location of data with computing resources and enhanced security options.

The PRP supports a broad range of data-intensive research projects that will have a wide-reaching impact on science and technology worldwide. Projects on cancer genomics, human and microbiome integration, biomolecular structure modeling, galaxy formation and evolution, telescope surveys, particle physics data analysis, simulations for earthquakes and natural disasters, climate modeling, virtual reality, and ultra-resolution video development are just a fraction of the work already benefiting from the use of the PRP. The PRP will be extensible across other data-rich domains as well as other national and international networks, potentially leading to a national—and eventually global—data-intensive research cyber-infrastructure.