NCSA dedicates new building
For the first time, NCSA has a home to call its own on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. On Jan. 25, NCSA held an official dedication for its new 142,000-square-foot building at 1205 W. Clark St., Urbana.
“This celebration recognizes the dedication, hard work, and ingenuity of NCSA’s staff in building and operating the computing infrastructure upon which the nation depends,” said NCSA director Thom Dunning. “Building a national cyberinfrastructure is a ‘contact sport’ that involves scientists and engineers, software developers, and computer technologists. By bringing all of us together, the new NCSA building will foster the collaborations that will be needed for success.”
In his remarks during the dedication ceremony, University of Illinois President B. Joseph White said that “every institution is known for its spires of excellence; NCSA is a spire of excellence of the University of Illinois.”
Also speaking at the dedication ceremony were; Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White; U.S. Representative Tim Johnson, a member of the House Science Committee; and National Science Foundation Director Arden Bement.
Their remarks were followed by demonstrations of NCSA technology and current projects, including efforts to develop cyberinfrastructure and cyberenvironments for environmental research, astronomy, earthquake risk assessment, atmospheric science and weather prediction, and genomics.