The HPC² Opens the New Virtual Environment Facility

GeoResources Institute
April 14, 2008

The High Performance Computing Collaboratory (HPC²) at Mississippi State University held a Grand Opening Ceremony for the new Virtual Environment for Real-Time EXploration (VERTEX) facility. Located within the HPC² Building, the VERTEX facility provides the ability to create any type of virtual environment. Software that has been developed in the past, or that is expected to be developed, will allow in-depth studies in various fields such as hurricane models, forest management, architecture models, vehicular models, and airplane, rocket, and submarine development. This will open doors of collaboration with different departments on campus, as well as potential relationships with any group looking to get a closer look into their field of study, whether it’s a veterinarian student getting a closer look at the inner workings of an animal, or an MSU football player improving his game - the possibilities are endless.

With the increased availability of virtual environment locations, the ability to interact remotely in real time will become more practicable. Researchers in different virtual environments at different locations will be able to share the same virtual experience of studying the same storm pattern or the same airplane simulation.

The HPC² is a coalition of member centers and groups that share a common core objective to advance the state-of-the-art in computational science and engineering using high performance computing.

For more information about the VERTEX facility, contact Dr. Robert Moorhead at rjm@gri.msstate.edu.