Purdue University

On Friday, August 2, the Purdue Board of Trustees gave approval to finance, construct, and award construction contracts for a $16M renovation to the Mathematical Sciences Building Data Center. This long-awaited renovation will result in a 32% increase in floor space, a 60% increase in usable power, and a two-fold increase in cooling capacity, all of which are crucial facility ingredients needed to continue to provide world-class high-performance computing resources to Purdue faculty and the nation.

Today, high-performance computing (HPC) is a critical capability for research and education. For research, HPC-using faculty were responsible for 73% ($408M) of the sponsored research expenditures at Purdue in fiscal year 2024. Educating the STEM workforce of tomorrow also depends on HPC—704 graduates used HPC for research in the 2023 academic year, and 27% of 2023’s PhD recipients at Purdue used HPC during their doctoral studies.

Since the completion of the Mathematical Sciences building (MATH), the data center on the ground floor has been the home of Purdue’s high-performance computing resources. Starting in 1968 with the CDC 6500, more than 50 systems—including such famed systems as the Cyber 205, Intel Paragon, IBM SP, “Recycled” Linux clusters, all the way through the Community Cluster era—have called MATH home. Throughout the years, the data center has received multiple updates, but this newest renovation will be the biggest, most expansive to date.

Thanks to the rise of accelerated HPC systems—a necessity for research tasks such as simulation and artificial intelligence workloads—Purdue must continually upgrade the facilities to accommodate both higher power loads and higher computing density. New machines not only need physical floor space, but require enhanced power delivery and more efficient cooling techniques, such as direct-to-chip liquid cooling or immersion. Specific improvements to MATH that will address these issues include:

• Relocation of power and cooling systems to the basement level below the computer space, freeing up room for computer equipment.
• The addition of a new 14” chilled water feed into the data center to increase capacity for next-generation liquid cooling loops.
• The installation of an overhead electrical bus system to accommodate new higher-power systems.
• Extension of the main data center floor into what is currently office space, adding over 1100 new square feet to the east side of the data center.
• Installation of a glass window on the new east wall of the data center, making the HPC systems visible from the ground floor hallway. This window will transform MATH into a site where VIPs, sponsors, and other visitors can see the resources that drive research at Purdue, while viewing a visual journey through the history of computing at Purdue printed on the walls.

“We are very excited about the new renovations happening in the Data Center,” says Preston Smith, Senior Director for the Rosen Center for Advanced Computing and Associate Director of Computing Infrastructure for Purdue’s Institute for Physical AI. “This investment in infrastructure will allow us to effectively increase our computing capabilities, enabling us to continue providing high-performance computing at the highest proven value while also supporting strategic initiatives like Purdue Computes and the Institute for Physical AI.

Construction for the renovation is slated to begin in May 2025, and will be completed in February 2026. If you would like to learn more about HPC and how it is helping Purdue in the persistent pursuit of innovation, please visit the RCAC “News” page.

Written by: Jonathan Poole, poole43@purdue.edu