Over $1 million worth of equipment and services was donated by Sun Microsystems and the Colorado Institute of Technology to the School of Engineering and Computer Science.
Sun Microsystems is donating equipment as part of the new partnership the school is forming with the software company.
The institute has helped with securing the grant. The announcement was made last Tuesday in the Joy Burns Plaza at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts. Following the announcement, members of the three groups were invited to tour the labs where students shared their research and explained the advantages of the new equipment.
The two new computer labs will allow students to conduct faster and more complex research that simulates real time.
“We are really excited,” said Rahmat Shoureshi, dean of the School of Engineering and Computer Science. ” We are proud of what we received and we want to show it off.”
The partnership started as two primary proposals submitted by two groups of faculty members and CIT and Sun got excited about the proposals. Shoureshi explained that in the fast-paced world of technology, it is essential to have partnerships with business and all levels of government.
With the partnership, faculty will have access to resources for high-quality research and the school will be able to graduate students who will be more effctive to industry, said Shoureshi.
“It is these partnerships that will build our school,” he said.
“Some years ago we began working on a new concept for a school of engineering…based on a different kind of partnership,” said Provost Robert Coombe, who presented plaques to both CIT and Sun Microsystems. “Technology changes life in America, [therefore we] require change at the roots of higher eduction.”
The equipment that has been donated by Sun Microsystems consists of brand new computers that have much higher processing capabilities. They allow students to run multiple models at one time and run them much faster. The equipment will allow Geoff Niggler, a teaching assistant, to help his students create parts for a rover vehicle with more accuracy.
With the Sun system used in an integration sequence, students can design and develop parts that will be used on the autonomous rover which is programmed to seek out marks around a room.
The new systems will allow students interested in biomechanics to simulate joint movement and analyze pressure points, hopefully allowing them to improve implant geometry and increase the time it takes for these implants to wear out.
The programs can also stimulate fluid flow through the joints, which was not previously possible. Students are now able to run complex three-dimensional models and with the new servers can get more accurate data.
Shoureshi said that with Sun Microsystems being so close to DU, graduates also go on to work for Sun and with this new relationship should be more effective to industry when they get there.
