Dell Centers For Research Excellence Awarded Stanford University

Bio-X Researchers Collaborate on Interdisciplinary Projects Using a Dell Supercomputing Cluster -- Dell today presented the Dell Centers for Research Excellence award to Stanford University's Bio-X program in recognition of the program's leading-edge use of technology in studying Alzheimer's disease and cancer. Bio-X uses more than 300 Dell PowerEdge servers in a high-performance computing cluster (HPCC) to simulate effects of medicines in these diseases and to help improve surgical and physical rehabilitation techniques, among many other studies. "Stanford is conducting important research to help advance critical areas of science and medicine," said Michael Dell, CEO and Chairman of Dell Inc. "By using standards-based servers Bio-X can stay on the leading edge of available technology, make better use of its IT funding and easily grow the system when needed. All of which helps drive more research at faster rates." Bio-X computer scientists and researchers from multiple disciplines use the supercomputing cluster to quickly perform large-scale computations in studying molecular reactions from emerging pharmaceuticals for diseases like Alzheimer's. They are helping researchers understand cell death and its role in preventing cancer, and to replicate protein folding and its effects on the human gene, and more. The researchers also collaborate with Stanford's medical school to reproduce the effects of surgery on organs and to simulate muscles for physical rehabilitation. "Bio-X is honored to receive this award from Dell today," said Michael Levitt, chairman of Structural Biology and a member of the Bio-X Faculty Leadership Council. "The Bio-X Dell cluster provides a massive concentration of computer power which we expect to be an important factor in breakthroughs in genomics, proteomics, computational biology and biomedical simulation. Use of standards-based technologies will allow this system to grow as our research and funding dictate. Integrating the latest technologies always keeps us on the cutting edge." Stanford's cluster consists of 302 Dell PowerEdge 2650 servers with dual Intel(r) Xeon(tm) processors running Red Hat Linux. It connects to one terabyte of Dell PowerVault storage. The cluster also uses 32 Dell PowerConnect(tm) switches for Gigabit Ethernet network connectivity. Stanford University's Bio-X HPCC exemplifies the shift in supercomputing from expensive proprietary platforms to flexible standardized technologies. These systems scale-out with increased demand to offer greater availability and performance at lower costs, Mr. Dell said. The university's cluster currently ranks 319 on the Top 500 list of supercomputers at www.top500.org.