Director Seidel speaks to House subcommittee
Congressman Darin LaHood (IL-18) welcomed Dr. Edward Seidel to Capitol Hill to testify on a review of the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Program. Serving as a witness to the House Sub-committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Dr. Seidel, Director of NCSA, provided his expertise to the committee as they discuss the NITRD Program, as well as the funding for its breakthrough technologies supporting advanced information, networking, and software.
Details of the Blue Waters supercomputer, housed on the campus of the University of Illinois-Urbana were also discussed.
Peoria’s own Caterpillar, Inc. will use the supercomputer to run test simulations on their new products and proposed designs for off-road trucks. The engineers at Caterpillar will use the supercomputer to enhance their development process by identifying potential advantages or disadvantages to various designs.
Dr. Edward Seidel also added to the experience, “I was extremely pleased to see the subcommittee’s tremendous bipartisan support for the NITRD Program. I particularly appreciated Congressman LaHood’s insightful questions and interest in the critical science infrastructure projects of Illinois, like the Blue Waters supercomputer at NCSA. NCSA’s long-standing partnership with Caterpillar and others exemplifies the enormous potential for U.S. industry to utilize the ecosystems we discussed in creating economic opportunities and impact.”