At Lehigh University the Imbt Laboratories are comprised of two nationally recognized research facilities: The Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems (ATLSS) Engineering Research Center and the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES@Lehigh) Facility. These labs conduct data- and computationally-intensive research in the areas of structural and civil engineering, as well as simulation of earthquake effects on large-scale structural systems. The increasing use of numeric and fast hybrid simulations in these areas of engineering in the Imbt Labs require massive data transfers, which require high-capacity network availability.
The proposed upgrades to the Imbt Labs and Lehigh's campus cyberinfrastructure provide three major functionalities to enhance research and teaching. These include: improved access to computing infrastructure maintained in the university data center; improved access to national computational resources (e.g. NSF XSEDE); and enhancements to collaborative research activities.
The network enhancements provided by the project consist of upgrading the Imbt core network infrastructure with gigabit connectivity for improved bandwidth supporting large dataset transfers. This project also creates a campus ScienceDMZ, greatly enhancing long-haul transfer of large data sets with external research partners and collaborators working with ATLSS, NEES@Lehigh, and other campus research centers such as Lehigh's Center for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology.
This project significantly enhances research at Lehigh as well as graduate and undergraduate education in various disciplines that utilize the resources of the Imbt Labs. Activities in the Imbt Labs also contribute to and promote Lehigh's diversity commitment to increase the participation of members of underrepresented groups in science and engineering.
