This project permits students to study issues of parallel computation and parallel processing in a flexible, reconfigurable laboratory. As parallel processing becomes increasingly important in computing, students of computer science need to be exposed to facilities that will allow them to explore, in depth, the concepts and limitations of different parallel computational models. The parallel computation laboratory that supports this project is equipped with six (6) parallel processing machines. Each machines contains eight (8) processors which may be connected in a variety of ways including a ring, a pipeline, shuffle-exchange and hypercube. The six parallel machines are connected to one network server allowing the 48 processors to be integrated as one large "supercomputer". Student access to the parallel equipment configuration is via six high efficiency wokstations suitable for parallel-program development and debugging. By being exposed to different parallel computer configurations, students in this project are prepared for an area of computing that is becoming increasingly important both as a practical and research topic. This award is being matched by an equal sum from the grantee.
