Hub technology that makes it easy for researchers to connect with colleagues throughout the world and share ideas, tools, computational resources and data storage while satisfying funding agency grant requirements was the focus of a November 2008 workshop covering the HUBzero platform.

The workshop was sponsored by ITaP, Purdue's central information technology organization.

Purdue has become a recognized leader in such cyberinfrastructure with the development of HUBzero, which powers nanoHUB.org and many other “hubs” for scientific collaboration.

HUBzero delivers simulation tools, tutorials, podcasts and other resources via the Web in a manner so elegant you have to see it to believe it, said Michael McLennan, senior research scientist and hub technology architect at Purdue, who will give a HUBzero overview and demo at the workshop.

The workshop allowed faculty to learn more about Purdue’s flexible hub solution, and for those already working on hubs to get more extensive training, McLennan said.

“Funding agencies are starting to require cyberinfrastructure solutions as part of all proposals,” he said. “We have a way for other projects to replicate the successful infrastructure developed for nanoHUB.org.”

The hub technology also can be a powerful, 21st century solution for satisfying the outreach component of grants. A national resource for nanotechnology theory, simulation and education, nanoHUB.org now has tens of thousands of users.

At the workshop, McLennan also covered uploading resources to a hub, configuring and customizing a hub and creating hub-based scientific applications with Rappture.

Gerry McCartney, Purdue's vice president for information technology and chief information officer, offered a welcome and introductory remarks.

Mark Lundstrom, chairman of the executive committee of Purdue's Network for Computational Nanotechnology and the Don and Carol Scifres Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, provided an overview of nanoHUB.org.

Ann Christien Catlin, a research scientist at the Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (ITaP's research-computing arm) gave an overview of cceHUB.org. Rex Reklaitis, Edward W. Comings Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering, discussed pharmaHUB.org. And George Adams, deputy director of the Network for Computational Nanotechnology, delivered a presentation called "HUBzero Roadmap and Future Directions."

Writer: Greg Kline, science and technology writer, ITaP, (765) 494-8167, gkline@purdue.edu

Source: Michael McLennan, (765) 494-6495, mmclennan@purdue.edu

Last updated: Oct. 13, 2008

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