Officials hope Danville supercomputer will attract more high-tech companies

Danville will soon be home to a supercomputer, effectively establishing the Center for Applied High Performance Computing in Danville’s River District.

Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Thursday that Noblis, a science and technology strategy nonprofit, and Cray Inc. will invest $2.5 million to establish the center, which will be located in Old Belt No. 1 in the Historic Tobacco Warehouse District.

The next-generation Cray XMT supercomputer would be the first in the United States outside of a federal laboratory or academic setting. Fewer than a dozen exist in the world, said Gil Miller, corporate vice president and chief technology officer of Noblis.

State and city leaders hope the supercomputer could serve as a catalyst for attracting other high-tech companies to the area.

“The center will provide unprecedented access to supercomputing in the private sector,” said Miller in a news release. “We believe that this amazing cross section of innovation and technology will help achieve new breakthroughs in high-performance computing and drive future progress.”

Now with funding secure, Cray is building the supercomputer and the Industrial Development Authority of Danville, owner of Old Belt No. 1, is getting the space ready. Noblis aims to be operating the supercomputer by this fall.

The center will bring 15 jobs — computer scientists, operations researchers, mathematicians and engineers — with an average salary of $125,000. These minds will come together to design applications for the supercomputer, like how the iPad needs “apps.”

Supercomputers have the ability to process large amounts of data to enable complex problem solving. Noblis, and a staff member from Cray, will examine beneficial uses for the machine.

“Technology and innovation are forces to make not only Danville and the region, but the state and the nation more competitive in this extremely competitive world marketplace that we play in,” Miller said. “… At the heart of what we’re trying to do is learn, innovate and develop new capabilities.”

“Cray is excited to be a part of this important initiative, and we look forward to a collaborative partnership that will leverage new technologies, such as the next-generation Cray XMT system, to implement solutions in areas that are not tractable today,” added Cray President and CEO Peter J. Ungaro in a statement.

Noblis, which works primarily for the federal government, will start by developing applications for a number of areas including air traffic control, homeland security, health systems and transportation and sustainability, Miller said.

Companies in the tobacco footprint can get discounted access to the supercomputer. Miller encourages the region’s research and development centers to talk to the center about the machine. The center will also provide training on developing applications.

Charles Gause, president of the Southern Piedmont Technology Council, called the extremely sophisticated computing system a “tremendous advantage” for the region in attracting companies working in computer science.

“This exciting and important announcement substantiates Southern Virginia’s continued investment in technology — establishing the region’s position in supercomputing,” Gause said.

The Virginia Tobacco Commission approved a $3 million grant and the governor approved $1 million from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund to help establish the center.

The center partners picked Old Belt No. 1 because the city owned the building, and they believed in Danville’s plan for creating a vibrant River District, Miller said. The location will be above LiFeBatt, next to Luna nanoWorks and across from the Averett University’s Riverview campus.

“Certainly the contrast of the history and this latest and greatest high-tech device in there, that’s an interesting comparison isn’t it?” said Miller, a history buff.

Don Harmon, CEO and co-founder of LiFeBatt, is glad for the new neighbor.

“It’s like synergy,” Harmon said. “If you get enough high-tech companies moving to an area, people catch on to that and say, ‘Hey, let’s go check it out.’”

Overheard

Gov. Bob McDonnell: “This kind of high performance technology research center is truly transformational for the City of Danville and the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

Virginia Secretary of Commerce Jim Cheng: “As a business model, CAHPC is designed to expand Virginia’s high-tech economic base. As a result, we will increase the quality of jobs, the number of Virginia companies working in HPC (high performance computing), and thus increase the number of Virginia sectors using HPC.”

Tobacco Commission Member Danny Marshall: “This center continues the commission’s planned revitalization of the Southern Virginia region in a manner that brings critical high-quality, high-technology jobs to the Commonwealth and the region.”

Danville Mayor Sherman Saunders: “Noblis is a well-known name in science and technology, and their presence in Danville will help bring other technology companies that will further transform our region.”