State awards contract for supercomputer

The state has awarded an $11 million contract to a California company to build a supercomputer that will be available to businesses, schools and government for research and development projects.

SGI, which has headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., won the contract from the state Department of Information Technology, it was announced Friday.

The state-owned, high-performance computer will be housed at the Intel Corp. in Rio Rancho.

SGI will build the computer and do testing to ensure it's operating properly, said Andy Lenderman, a spokesman for the department. The work is to be completed by the end of June 2008.

Gov. Bill Richardson said, "This project proves New Mexico is serious about developing its high-tech economy and represents a critical investment in our state's future. Our supercomputing center will be a world-class research facility. We will recruit companies to partner with us and move their research, development and manufacturing operations to the state, creating more high-wage jobs for New Mexicans."

The Legislature approved $14 million earlier this year for the project. Part of the money will go to design the supercomputer center and provide a connection between the computer and universities.

No decision has been made on where the supercomputer center will be built. It could be located separately from the computer, Lenderman said.

The state has partnerships with Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories, the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico State University in Las Cruces and New Mexico Tech in Socorro to provide staff and expertise for the supercomputer project.

The administration will propose legislation next year to establish the center and create an authority to run its day-to-day operations. Money also will be requested to staff and operate the center. The Legislature convenes in January for a 30-day session.