Utlimate Local Loop (ULL) connects to 23rd most powerful computer in world

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Supercomputer could bring new avenues for area businesses Zeke, a supercomputer, was plugged in Tuesday at UL. Soon, a statewide network with five other universities in the state will provide endless opportunities for business in Louisiana. Together, they'll make up the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative, where massive amounts of data can be processed and sent at high speeds. They'll connect nationally through another network - LambdaRail. The technology is unique to Louisiana and could draw businesses from a variety of fields, officials said. With multiple computers, high-powered Internet data transfers could be accessible for research or business all over the state. A model for success could be North Carolina's e-NC Authority. Donna Sullivan, senior program director for integration of communities/ innovation, was the keynote speaker at Tuesday's launch. The rest of the story Bob Moser bmoser@theadvertiser.com

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High-tech projects conceived by the city leaders years ago finally came to fruition in 2006. The opening of the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise center in September and UL joining the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative in December gives the area a window into a new world of technology, officials say. The LITE center offers unparalleled 3-D visualization technology and supercomputing power to area researchers and businesses, and LONI can connect them to institutions throughout the world. That duo has the potential to give the area's economy some new tools to compete. "We don't really go after technology for technology's sake. You go after technology so that it can grow business," said Gregg Gothreaux, CEO of the Lafayette Economic Development Authority. The rest of the story Arnessa M. Garrett agarrett@theadvertiser.com

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Downtown Baton Rouge is now home to one of the world’s 25 most powerful supercomputers, courtesy of a new “Queen Bee” in town, the Louisiana Board of Regents announced Monday. The new computing infrastructure and its 50 teraflops of power is affectionately named after Gov. Kathleen Blanco. She embraced the “Queen Bee” nickname given to her not-so-affectionately by state Rep. Troy Hebert after he was stripped of a committee chairmanship in 2004. Every teraflop is 1 trillion operations per second. The new computer is nearly 10 times more powerful than any of the supercomputers operating on individual university campuses. The cluster supercomputer is the “centerpiece” of the ambitious Louisiana Optical Network Initiative linking the state’s higher education. The rest of the story By JORDAN BLUM Advocate Acadiana Edition

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BATON ROUGE — Louisiana's supercomputer Queen Bee, the centerpiece of the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative, is the 23rd most powerful supercomputer in the world. The ranking follows the release of the annual Top 500 Supercomputer Sites list this week during the International Supercomputing Conference in Dresden, Germany, according to a news release from Kevin Hardy of the Louisiana Board of Regents. Louisiana's Queen Bee is ranked fourth among the supercomputers owned by U.S. higher education institutions, the release states. The rest of the story