URI is part of the Open Storage Network for research data storage and sharing

URI has been part of the National Science Foundation’s Open Storage Network (OSN) for 3 years. OSN is a collaborative between 17 top research institutions that is designed to storage vast amounts of valuable research data and allow for sharing over a high-speed network. Each institution has a storage “Pod” with over a petabyte of capacity. URI’s Pod is hosted in one of OSHEAN’s data centers that allows for extremely high-speed connectivity across the region and nationally.

More details available here: https://access-ci.org/open-storage-network-welcomes-new-campus-computing-partners/

CCR supports research in Environmental Economics

Prof. Corey Lang and postdoctoral researcher Jarron VanCeylon just published a paper in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management titled “Voting with their (left and right) feet: Are homebuyers’ values of neighborhood environmental amenities consistent with their politics?” that was supported by the CCR. 

Full paper can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103157

Congratulations Corey and Jarron!

CCR AI/ML Seminar: Machine Learning Approaches for Characterizing Global Sea Surface Temperature Fields

The Center for Computational Research is planning a series of monthly talks on AI/ML techniques and applications across various scientific domains. We envision the talks to strike a good balance between depth and breath. The goal of these talks will be to (i) introduce the particular AI/ML technique to fellow faculty and graduate students who have a basic understanding of deep learning and (ii) present a variety of applications in different domains without assuming deep domain knowledge. Each event will start with a 45 minute talk with 15 minutes for questions and a subsequent 30 minute networking session for brainstorming and further discussion. The speakers will be URI faculty from a number of colleges.

Details on the first talk appear below.

Speaker: Peter Cornillon (GSO)
Date/Time/Location: May 1st, 3pm, 112 East Hall.
Title: Machine Learning Approaches for Characterizing Global Sea Surface Temperature Fields
Abstract: Sea surface temperature (SST) fields derived from satellite-borne sensors offer an ideal dataset for exploration using machine learning techniques. In this presentation, I will describe the use of an auto-encoder, in combination with a flow equalization technique, to identify outliers in a 20-year, global, twice-daily archive of SST fields. I will then demonstrate how this same approach can be applied to evaluate the performance of a global ocean circulation model.
Switching gears, I will introduce a machine learning model based on contrastive learning applied to the same SST datasets—this time to uncover and categorize fundamental spatial patterns within the fields. Finally, I will briefly touch on an analysis of the latent space produced by the contrastive learning model, with a focus on estimating the intrinsic dimensionality of SST field variability.

 

World Quantum Day 2025

URI celebrates World Quantum Day on April 11th 2025 with opening remarks from Senator Reed. Details are available here: https://physics.uri.edu/2025wqd/

 

 

AI Big Data Forum — Spring ’25

April 18th noon, Galanti Lounge. Details in the attached flyer! 

Event Flyer

Andromeda HPC cluster to merge into Unity HPC/AI system at MGHPCC

 

Andromeda–> Unity HPC Transition Plan

Over the last few years, we have built an entirely new HPC/AI environment, support system and infrastructure in partnership with UMass Amherst called UNITY: https://unity.uri.edu. We have received very positive feedback on Unity from all types of HPC/AI users at URI, and just performed a major upgrade to the system increasing capacity for URI users by ~50%. Unity is located at the MGHPCC, which is a cutting-edge near-zero Carbon facility specially designed for research computing by major research universities in our region. 

Andromeda is a much older computational resource sited at URI. It has an aging storage system, obsolete security infrastructure and consumes ~18 kW of energy that results in ~40 metric tons of CO2 in the atmosphere per year. Moreover, our small support team at URI has difficulty with supporting 2 different major computational systems at multiple locations, especially given that we are in the process of building 2 additional systems (Sanctuary and Harmony) at MGHPCC.

For these reasons, we are considering transitioning URI users away from Andromeda to Unity over the next few months. Once the transition is complete, we will relocate viable Andromeda hardware and merge it into Unity so that there is minimal loss of compute capacity for URI. 

Here are the details of this transition plan: 

  • Our team will offer focussed support to Andromeda users to aid their transition to Unity over the next few months. 
  • Research data transfer to Unity would be the top priority right from the beginning. Since some data transfers may take a long time, we will not set a deadline for moving data off the NAS storage systems attached to Andromeda.  
  • After May 30th, we will shut down the Andromeda compute nodes thus halting the execution of any future jobs. And we will change the filesystem to read-only mode. Users would still be able to migrate their files over to Unity.
  • We will schedule a full shutdown of Andromeda at URI on July 1st. We will package and ship the viable Andromeda hardware to the MGHPCC and have it integrated into Unity and make it available by September 1st. 

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or concerns.

URI Speed Networking Event for Graduate & Senior Students

Invitation: URI Speed Networking Event for Graduate & Senior Students (AI, Quantum, and Computationally Enhanced Research & Innovation) 

Friday April 11, 2025, 9:30-noon

Galanti Lounge, 3rd Floor, URI Library

by

Center for Computational Research, ITS (Joan Peckham & Gaurav Khanna)

URI Innovation Lab (Jim McGwin)

URI Division of Research and Economic Development (Karen Markin)

PURPOSE: To assist graduate and senior students engaged in research and/or innovation at URI to find collaborators from across campus, and to attend to increased need for interdisciplinary, convergence1, use-inspired2, and data enabled research and innovation.

APPROACH: This event will provide a means for students of all disciplines who are active in research and/or innovation to meet and find collaborators from other disciplines. This includes:

  • Student researchers or innovators of any discipline searching for partners with analytical, and/or computational expertise, or
  • Student researchers or innovators with applied and/or theoretical data, quantum computing, mathematics, statistics or AI/analysis/management expertise wishing to partner with researchers and/or innovators from other disciplines.

The goal is to explore interdisciplinary research collaborations that can strengthen research/innovation projects and better prepare participants for careers that increasingly call for interdisciplinary data and computationally enhanced collaborations.  URI students of all disciplines who are actively engaged in research and innovation are invited.

PROCESS: We will use a structured and timed speed dating approach that will give each scholar short segments of time to exchange their expertise, interests, and innovative ideas with other participants. At the end we will provide a pizza and beverages, but all will be welcome to stay and further discuss promising collaborations.

Registration by Friday, April 4, 2025 (So that we can order food): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSflirdAKzDdSL-iJiU9m38gcQ1W3dTua78YkJTt9aB78AdnlQ/viewform?usp=dialog

Questions? Contact jpeckham@uri.edu (Joan Peckham)

 

[1] Convergence Research (https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/learn/research-types/learn-about-convergence-research): It is driven by a specific and compelling problem, whether that problem arises from deep scientific questions or pressing societal needs. It shows deep integration across disciplines. Convergence research intentionally brings together intellectually diverse researchers to develop effective ways of communicating across disciplines. As experts from different disciplines pursue a common research challenge, their knowledge, theories, methods, data and research communities increasingly intermingle. 

[2] Use-Inspired Research – From NSF solicitation on AI Institutes – NSF 22502 (https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2022/nsf22502/nsf22502.htm):  We use the phrase “use-inspired” rather than “applied” to emphasize that this solicitation seeks to support work that goes beyond merely applying known techniques and adds new knowledge and understanding in both foundational AI and use-inspired domains. Ideally there is a virtuous cycle between foundational and use-inspired research, where foundational results provide a starting point for use-inspired research, and the results from use-inspired research are generalized and made foundational.

Spring Semester Workshops by URI CCR / AI Lab

Welcome back! The details of our CCR / AI Lab semester workshops are presented below. These are open to faculty, staff and students and are totally free. 

https://docs.unity.uri.edu/news/2025/01/uri-spring-25-workshops/
You can also find these on the URI events calendar (and subscribe): https://events.uri.edu/group/ai

We have some relatively new workshop offerings on AI Tools, Gen AI and Bioinformatics. A huge thanks to Indrani Mandal and our student team for planning and preparing these workshops!