New Maui supercomputer team formed

Air Force Research Laboratory

The Air Force Research Laboratory announced Monday that it has selected a team made up of the University of Hawaii, Science Applications International Corp. and Boeing Corp. to operate and manage the Maui High Performance Computing Center.

The team will operate the center, located at the Maui Research and Technology Park in Kihei, and support many of the projects performed there. The center, which is ranked among the top 20 supercomputing sites in the world and is the second most powerful supercomputer center in the Defense Department, is home to the most powerful Linux supercluster in the world.

The center's research, development, operations and maintenance contract will begin a transition period July 1 and will be in full operation by Oct. 1. The contract, which has a potential value of $181 million, could be extended for up to 10 years.

SAIC's role is to "support the [center] with program development and science and engineering applications," said Clay Stewart, manager of SAIC's Reconnaissance and Surveillance Operation in the company's Technology Research Group.

SAIC, which could derive about $45 million in revenue from the project, is establishing a new office in Maui to support the contract and is seeking qualified high-performance computing engineers and scientists to fill positions. The University of New Mexico previously had oversight responsibilities for the center.