CENTER FOR COMPUTATION & TECHNOLOGY

The Advocate By Ned Randolph When higher education officials lobbied for the "LONI" fiber-optic computer network, they called it the ultimate economic development tool that would attract top researchers and federal dollars to the state. Last September, Gov. Kathleen Blanco committed $40 million over 10 years to build and maintain LONI, which will link eight university campuses to a national network of supercomputers, called the National LambdaRail. LONI, which stands for Louisiana Optical Network Initiative, has landed a major trophy to the state. Dr. Thomas Sterling, who helped revolutionize the modern supercomputer, has accepted a position at LSU's Center for Computation and Technology. At LSU, he hopes to develop the next generation of high-performance computers that will give birth to true Artificial Intelligence. By making computer chips more efficient, Sterling believes he can change computing by "one to three orders of magnitude" that will transform how humans interact with technology. "We'll finally stop interfacing with a computer with a keypad," he said. "It's a truly science fiction dream of talking to computers and computers talking back to you." A senior scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, Sterling holds six patents and co-created the modern "Beowulf" supercomputer, which combines multiple off-the-shelf CPUs into one operation. LSU offered him full professorship and tenure. He starts Aug. 22, he said. "We lured him away from Cal Tech. It was a real coup," said Dr. Kevin Carman, dean of the College of Basic Sciences at LSU Sterling, who holds a Ph.D. from MIT, said LSU offered the most exciting program and package, especially with LONI going live this fall. "I would not have come to CCT if not for LONI -- I can't be starved for bits," he said. "Louisiana has positioned itself to being absolutely top-tier when it comes to Internet access for data movement." Carman also pointed to CCT director Ed Seidel, who has organized the center to collaborate with other departments that use high-performance computing. Seidel joined LSU in 2003, moving from the Albert Einstein Institute in Germany. "Ed Seidel is internationally known in his own right. That's what initially attracted (Sterling). If it hadn't been for that, we would not be on the radar," Carman said. "He told me he never imagined moving to Louisiana." The appointment of former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe as LSU chancellor helped as well. "It put LSU on the map to many of us in the high-tech industry," Sterling said. O'Keefe has close ties to Washington, D.C., and "understands money, politics and running a very large organization driven by technology and science," Sterling said. Sterling will bring his research to LSU which involves developing a computer processor called "MIND," which stands for Memory, Intelligence and Network Device. The MIND architecture uses a new multi-core chip that stacks several processors on a single chip -- similar to those in the upcoming Sony PlayStation 3 game device -- but with greater efficiency, Sterling said. "Play Station 3 is putting lots more of these functional units on chips, but it's not clear we know how to make them work more effectively together," he said. Processors generally dedicate a single functioning body that's surrounded by "clever tricks" and mechanisms that keep it working, he said. "There are many sources of inefficiencies … in the way we put technology on a chip, the way we organize the technology, the way we make the chips work with each other," he said. "We're using the same model we used 50 or 60 years ago developed in the vacuum tube era." Sterling said the work -- along with other CCT initiatives -- could "catalyze a new industry and bring new talent to Louisiana." He envisions building his prototype in Baton Rouge. Carman said he will also be working to create an undergraduate major in high-performance computing. "Any investors -- even the state of Louisiana -- should expect a big return from their investment. I hope to give them that," Sterling said. "I think that LSU is creating a very special opportunity and consider lucky to be asked to participate," Sterling said.