Supercomputer data center on track to open doors in May

BYLINE: Richard A. D'Errico

A new $100 million data center that will be home to one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world is taking shape and is set to open in May.

The plan to open the Computational Center for Nanotechnology Innovations, located in the Rensselaer Technology Park in North Greenbush, was announced nearly a year ago. It was to be one of the top 10 supercomputing centers in the world. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., IBM and Cadence Design Systems are partners in the center.

In many data centers, computers remain in a back room and away from view, but at the tech park, it will take center stage. Visitors will see the computers, located behind tall glass walls, as they enter the lobby.

The data center also will rent out meeting and office space, and make the lobby available for functions.

The three companies working on the construction of the center are engineering firm EYP Mission Critical, Turner Construction Co. and Woodward Connor Gillies & Seleman Architects P.C., a local interior designer.

About 65 people are working on the site daily. When the data center is completed, it will employ 300 to 500. The center's supercomputer will provide more than 70 teraflops of computing power, or 70 trillion arithmetic functions per second.

"I'm involved in a lot of large-scale data center projects. I've got three of them under construction," said Ken Clausen, EYP's project manager. "What's happened over there at the tech park thus far is nothing short of a miracle. We just haven't run into any big hurdles. I feel like a football team that's made it into the playoffs and things are looking good for the championships."