The Advocate
By Ned Randolph
Computer engineers from the University of California at San Diego, right, participate via high-definition video teleconference in a test-run of the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative at LSU, which also involved scientists from the Czech Republic.
For a short time on Thursday, the world had a glimpse of Louisiana before the storm -- the one that state leaders envisioned when the governor committed $40 million to link Louisiana's universities into a high-speed network of supercomputers.
Though its scheduled deployment was delayed by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative provided its second demonstration in two days: linking LSU faculty by a high-definition teleconference with colleagues in the Czech Republic and San Diego.
Only LSU is linked onto the high-speed National LamdaRail, but LONI will eventually link to seven other campuses in the state: Louisiana Tech University, LSU-Shreveport Medical Center, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Southern University, the University of New Orleans, LSU Medical Center and Tulane University.
Advocates say the LamdaRail gives them an opportunity to bid on large research project grants from the likes of NASA, the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health -- opening the door to hundreds of millions of dollars in funding.
Five supercomputers at CCT that would have ordinarily already been sent to their respective sites are waiting to be deployed.
And the two sites in New Orleans will likely wait longer.
Ironically, some of the devastation that caused the delays, could be prevented in the future because of LONI.
With it, researchers can share huge data sets of information around the world instantly, such as complex models of storm surge predictions.
Weather sensors in the Gulf and satellites would allow researchers to compare actual storms with projected forecasts quickly, giving emergency officials an earlier read on where the storm is headed.
"It would give more reliable predictions," said Ed Seidel, CCT director.
Presently, when a storm comes into the Gulf, LSU's Hurricane Center commandeers the "Super Mike" cluster computer.
"We'll run two or three simulations at the same time, but we have difficulty shifting output around -- the files that come out are huge," said Paul Kemp, an associate research professor at the Hurricane Center. "Let's say you want to get them over to someone in Lafayette or Lake Charles and have them do an analysis while we do something else."
Before LONI, Federal Express would be the quickest way.
"As of Monday, we can do in four minutes what used to take seven days," said CCT associate professor Brygg Ullmer.
Another demonstration of LONI, earlier in the week, linked LSU with San Diego and Czech researchers by high-definition teleconference while they manipulated a massive data file of black holes colliding in space.
"It hasn't been possible to interact with a dataset that large before," said Seidel. "The thing that's exciting is that the state has a network as good as anywhere in the world."
Economic development officials touted LONI as a way to take Louisiana into an elite circle, by attracting the best researchers and more funding grants.
LONI can also elevate local and international understanding of how to save the state's diminishing marshlands; and how to protect low-lying areas such as New Orleans from future catastrophic hurricanes.
"It allows things you couldn't do before. The network is fast enough that computers can really be used for complex problems," Seidel said.
And with graphical modeling, almost anyone can understand it.
"That's what modeling does, it makes something real before it happens," Kemp said.
Of course, giving people knowledge isn't always enough.
"We have been warning about these things for a long time and haven't gotten far," Kemp said. "We were predicting overtopping of the levees on Saturday. If you look at some of those animations on our Web site, it's pretty chilling."
Publish Date:
09-30-2005
