FEBRUARY 3, 2021 — UTSA has received a technology grant via special discounts from Dell Technologies to support advanced technologies and a new research infrastructure platform at the university. Through the substantial savings to UTSA, this technology grant enables and supports UTSA’s ability to attract leading research scholars and students. With the grant, UTSA invested in a hybrid cloud approach that utilizes solutions from Dell Technologies to help deliver research in data science and cybersecurity.
With the support of the technology grant, UTSA will invest in a broad range of Dell Technologies infrastructure solutions—including servers, storage, networking and data protection—that will serve as the foundation of all research produced at the solutions institution. This includes several of the latest Dell Technologies innovations ranging from a high performance computing (HPC) system for data and compute-intensive projects, storage for big data workloads, software-defined networking, and disaster recovery and business continuity. This will provide reliable services, reduce operating expenses, transform procedures and operating models as well as offer supercomputing resources as a service.
Designed for future expansion, increased performance, optimized storage and maximized skill sets, UTSA’s new HPC cluster features 156 nodes of Dell EMC PowerEdge servers capable of 353 teraflops, an increase of nearly 200 teraflops over its current SHAMU HPC cluster.
The technology grant will allow UTSA University Technology Solutions, under the leadership of Vice President for Information Management and Technology, Kendra Ketchum, to establish a research infrastructure that meets the federal guidelines, policies and regulations of the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Energy, and Texas statutes. The advanced platform will spur innovation and elevate research at UTSA.
“This grant will have a profound impact on our research mission, particularly in the areas of cybersecurity and data science,” said UTSA President Taylor Eighmy. “The platform will elevate our research infrastructure at UTSA, and we are grateful to Dell Technologies for its deep commitment to advancing research technology.”
Several research programs at UTSA will directly benefit from the grant including the Open Cloud Institute, Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute and Matrix AI Consortium. The work of these research organizations drives UTSA’s mission toward becoming a nationally recognized research university. UTSA continues to work toward attaining National Research University Fund eligibility and aims for an R1 designation by the Carnegie Commission. These designations will position UTSA to align with members of the prestigious Association of American Universities.
“Now more than ever, technology is critical to how we innovate and how we advance society,” said Adam Garry, senior director of education for Dell Technologies. “It is critical that we prepare future generations with skills in emerging technology, and that our local universities, like UTSA, have access to what they need to innovate, discover and have the greatest positive impact on society. With Dell Technologies infrastructure, UTSA can ensure researchers have access to the compute and storage demands of this growing research institution.”
“Dell's technology donation to UTSA's knowledge enterprise will drive further transdisciplinary research across the university including the humanities and the arts as we expand the research IT infrastructure to be inclusive for all,” added Bernard Arulanandam, vice president for research, economic development and knowledge enterprise at UTSA. “Our dedicated research centers and institutes will benefit from this investment, by spurring additional high-research activities and engaging even more undergraduate and graduate students in the investigative process."
In 2021, the university will unveil a location on campus that will be named after Dell Technologies to honor the company’s commitment to research excellence at UTSA.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
This spring UTSA is hosting a 30-second film festival on TikTok! Your mission? Create a 30-second video that highlights how you relax with Adobe Creative Cloud. This is your chance to take a break from the world around you make something fun. The top three videos will receive prizes that will help you on your creative journey and the top ten winners will receive free Adobe swag!
Virtual EventAnn Margaret Trujillo (from the Multicultural Student Center For Equity and Justice) and Ammi Bui (from the UTSA Libraries & Museum), are hosting a series of discussions with our Racial Justice Book Club for the month of February. Come join us and our current members as we discuss topics relevant to Black History Month and our Book of the Month pick.
Virtual EventWall Street was once "Black"! Learn about its destruction and what it did to set back the economic prosperity of Blacks both as workers and entrepreneurs. Hear from two Black entrepreneurs who are paving the way for the next generation of Black Wall Street.
Virtual EventA lecture series brought to you by Loma de Vida Spa & Wellness and UTSA College for Health, Community and Policy. Dr. Sara Oswalt is the chair of & professor in the Department of Public Health at UTSA. She is also a certified sexuality educator through the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, & Therapists.
Virtual EventAs part of the annual Campus Race to Zero Waste, the Office of Facilities will provide sensitive document shredding services for our UTSA community. You can bring work-related or personal documents. All we ask is for you to shred away to help recycle!
Parking Lot UTSA Student Union and Ximenes Avenue GaradeIn many courses, faculty broach relevant but difficult topics surrounding race, ethnicity, civil rights, and much more with sensitivity and caring—-but this may be especially difficult in an online classroom. In this session, Dr. Shelley Howell will discuss how faculty can create an inclusive classroom environment digitally to allow for conducive conversations for all parties.
Virtual EventGreat discussions continue this spring with Mary McNaughton-Cassill, Professor of Psychology and Donna Edmondson, University Ombuds. They are providing five 30-minute interactive webinars. Topics include bridge building, stigmas, team building, staying engaged at work and our shared experiences.
Virtual EventThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education.
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to ending generations of discrimination and inequity. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.