Avondale a top contributor to worldwide computing network
Brenton Stacey
Public relations officer
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia
An Avondale College of Higher Education team has earned more credits in less than a year than almost all teams in a worldwide grid computing system.
A worldwide computing network is using spare processing power at Avondale to support humanitarian research.
Staff members in the School of Science and Mathematics, supported by those in Information Technology Services and by several alumni, have joined a loosely coupled computer network as part of the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC).
BOINC is an open source middleware system for grid computing. It enables researchers to use the spare processing power of personal computers for scientific projects. This simultaneous processing reduces research time and saves money. BOINC allocates credit to users for the processor time they volunteer. “This makes it a bit like a game where volunteers compete for most credit,” says Lachlan Rogers, an associate lecturer in the school.
The Science@Avondale team seems as if its playing to win, earning more credit in less than a year than 96 per cent of all BOINC teams worldwide. It is placed 53rd of the 1378 teams in Australia.
Of more importance: to what projects the credit is supporting. Science@Avondale contributes primarily to two projects.
The first, the focus of the school’s mathematics and physics computer lab, is Einstein@Home. This World Year of Physics 2005 and International Year of Astronomy 2009 project seeks to make the first direct detections of gravitational waves from spinning neutron stars.
The second is World Community Grid, which supports public and not-for-profit organisations engaged in humanitarian research—Computing for Clean Water and Help Fight Childhood Cancer are two of the projects. “World Community Grid is literally changing the world,” says Lachlan, “and its mission meshes with Avondale’s motto, ‘For a greater vision of world needs.’”
The altruistic nature of these BOINC projects appeals to Lachlan. “The projects we contribute to remind us science and mathematics are alive and dynamic—they demonstrate Avondale’s commitment to the value of service in such a powerful way.”
Contact Lachlan Rogers to join the Science@Avondale BOINC team.
[email protected]
(02) 4980 2204