Information Technology Services
Union College is dedicated to providing students and faculty with access to resources that facilitate faculty research and undergraduate student research. With this exposure, students gain valuable research skills that they might not otherwise acquire until later in their academic career.
Previously, Union operated an IBM Intelligent Cluster on campus. It was donated by John E. Kelly III ‘76 during the dedication of the Peter Wold Center in May 2011. At that time, this IBM Intelligent Cluster provided the College with the greatest research computing capability of any undergraduate liberal arts college in the nation.
The IBM Intelligent Cluster was decommissioned in July 2017. In order to continue to offer research computing capacity, Union now utilizes cloud-based High Performance Computing (HPC) resources, with the help of Sly Media Networks, LLC, Union’s HPC vendor. The majority of the workload will utilize Amazon Web Services (AWS). Union also has access to the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC).
By using a cloud-based service like AWS, Union has access to a vast amount of computing power for research computing. The benefit of cloud-based services is that an expensive on-site physical infrastructure to house this hardware is no longer required. Utilizing a cloud-based solution also supports one are of Union’s strategic plan that focuses on sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint.