Computing power and collaboration often cross state lines, as illustrated recently when Ralph Zottola, Ph.D., assistant vice president for Research Computing, received an award during an annual research computing conference.

At the Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing Conference, Zottola and his project team members from multiple institutions across the Southeast were selected for the Phil Andrews award. This recognition is given to a top academic paper at the PEARC conference. The paper also received the top award in the workforce development category.

"Our paper is based on a workforce development tract project. It's being led by Texas A&M but also includes the University of Tennessee, UAB, and a number of smaller institutions. The goal is to find ways to engage underserved institutions," Zottola said. "The realm of research computing needs more people. Small institutions need them the most, along with the ability to engage and expose students to the field of work."

The paper, "BRICCs: Building Pathways to Research Cyberinfrastructure at Under Resourced Institutions," examines ways that two-year colleges could use computing to help maintain growth. It is a collaborative effort across the region to creatively advance computing and network efforts.

Zottola also works on the Alabama Advanced Research Computing Consortium. Working from a planning grant, the project aims to set up a model consortium in the state to do similar work laid out in BRICCs.

"Our goal is to share our resources with all the schools in the state," Zottola said. "Whether it's for a research purpose or academic, we want to be able to expose students to cutting-edge technology."