This grant provides support for development of a 36 node, dual-processor PC cluster (a Beowulf cluster) to be used in computational geophysical research at Princeton University. The Beowulf cluster will facilitate parallel processing of 3-D mantle convection models, seismic wave propagation models and geodynamo simulations at finite element resolutions that have only been achievable elsewhere using supercomputers. This 36 node PC cluster at Princeton will be the very first Beowulf cluster ever developed that will be devoted to geophysical modeling and not computational science and promises a significant price-performance advantage over state-of-the-art parallel architectures. ***
