sealPurdue News
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August 18, 1997

Intel Corp. awards $6 million to Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Intel Corp. will grant Purdue University approximately $6.2 million in equipment over the next three years, university officials announced today (Monday, 8/18).

The computer hardware and software will be used primarily for research and teaching, with some equipment going into student labs. Nearly 150 faculty representing 17 academic departments across a variety of disciplines will use the equipment.

"Purdue University considers Intel to be among its closest corporate friends," said Robert L. Ringel, executive vice president for academic affairs. "This outstanding grant is a reflection of Purdue's excellence in computation-based research and further evidence of Intel's commitment to the education and research goals we have established as an institution. We hope to build on this relationship."

W. Kent Fuchs (pronounced "fox"), head of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said: "The Intel grant of computers and software is an exceptionally generous donation that will have a major impact on the research of more than 100 Purdue faculty and hundreds of graduate students across campus."

Fuchs said many of the new personal computers with the latest Intel processors will be grouped in clusters, which will then have the capability to function as ultra-fast, high performance "supercomputers." Such clustered systems will allow researchers to perform sophisticated simulations and develop complex graphical displays that are not possible using isolated computers.

Researchers from across campus will develop new applications that take advantage of the advanced capabilities of the Intel processors. Faculty are expected to use the equipment to research or develop computer networks, computer graphics, synthetic environments, computer models and simulations of manufacturing systems, and new education technologies, with an emphasis on distance education.

Distance education refers to courses in which the instructors and students are at different geographic locations but can communicate via computers, videoconferencing, e-mail and other technical means.

While some faculty members at Purdue already use computers with Intel processors, the grant will allow students and other faculty to become more familiar with the machines, which are used widely in industry, said Ahmed Sameh, head of the Department of Computer Sciences.

Fuchs and Sameh are members of an executive committee that will work with Intel representatives to further develop the Purdue-Intel relationship. Other committee members are Miroslaw J. Skibniewski, assistant executive vice president for academic affairs, and Ronald J. Steuterman, associate director, corporate and foundation relations, University Development Office. In addition, John T. Korb, director of research facilities for the Department of Computer Sciences, is the project manager. Korb is responsible for the installation of the equipment and for providing feedback to Intel on its performance.

The Intel grant falls under the company's Technology for Education 2000 program. The three-year, $85 million grant program is part of Intel's broader, long-term support for higher education. This program will support university research and curriculum development and help place PCs, workstations, servers and networking hardware based on Intel Architecture in key research universities throughout the United States.

Sources: Robert L. Ringel, (765) 494-9709
W. Kent Fuchs, (765) 494-3539; e-mail, fuchs@ecn.purdue.edu
Ahmed Sameh, (765)494-6010; e-mail, sameh@cs.purdue.edu
Ronald J. Steuterman, (765) 494-0572; e-mail, rjsteuterman@udo.purdue.edu
Tracy Koon, Intel Corporate Press Relations, (408) 765-5609; e-mail, tracy_koon@ccm.sc.intel.com
Writer: Amanda Siegfried, (765) 494-4709; e-mail, amanda_siegfried@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu


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