Joint Institute for Computational Sciences
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The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences (JICS) was established in 1991 through an agreement with the Science Alliance (a University of Tennessee Center of Excellence) and ORNL. Its purposes were to advance scientific discovery and the knowledge of computational modeling and simulation by making full use of the capabilities of ORNL’s high-performance computers and to educate the next generation of researchers in using computational techniques to address scientific problems. From this beginning, JICS has expanded to include seven regional core universities. The institute has also pursued an outreach program to Historically Black Colleges and Universities for more than a decade, beginning with an National Science Foundation–funded MetaCenter Regional Alliance grant awarded in 1995.
JICS provides a framework for ORNL to work with UT and other university partners to realize three strategic goals:
- Create new modeling and simulation capabilities for computers operating at the petascale and beyond and use these capabilities to solve the science and engineering challenges that are the most important to DOE and the United States.
- Train scientists and engineers to model and simulate natural and engineered systems on supercomputers and educate a new generation of researchers expert in applying computational simulation in research and education.
- Create a leading cyber infrastructure for science and engineering in the southeastern United States.
The state of Tennessee has built a 52,000-square-foot building on the ORNL campus across the street from the NCCS to house JICS. The JICS staff includes university–ORNL joint appointees, JICS research affiliates, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, administrative personnel, and support staff to assist researchers and students in using the NCCS supercomputers.
JICS is also home to the National Institute for Computational Sciences, an NSF center for high-performance computing managed by the University of Tennessee.
