Following is a joint statement by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Massachusetts and Boston University on planning for a green, high-performance computing center in Holyoke, Mass.
On June 11, 2009, the presidents of MIT, University of Massachusetts and Boston University joined the governor, mayor of Holyoke and senior executives representing the CEOs of EMC, Cisco and Accenture in signing a letter of intent that committed us to work collaboratively to devise an action plan over the subsequent 120 days for development of (1) a world-class, green high performance computing center (HPCC) in Holyoke, Massachusetts, that provides advanced infrastructure for research computing, and (2) a collaborative research agenda in advanced computing and applications (including life sciences, clean energy and green computing) that would establish Massachusetts as a global leader in the development and application of a new generation of computing technologies. The HPCC would serve as a catalyst for an economic development initiative that includes an innovation district, powered by green and cost-competitive energy in Holyoke.
We are pleased and proud to report that we have made considerable progress in this short period of time toward our objectives. We have established overall requirements, developed a series of facility options with capital and operating cost estimates, and agendas for collaborative R&D and education/outreach programs. We have also initiated discussions with several other potential institutional partners. This is a most impressive accomplishment in only four months and a tribute to the strength of our unique partnership.
Given this progress, MIT, UMass, BU are now committing to work diligently over the next 120 days with the Governor, Housing and Economic Development Secretary Bialecki, Energy and Environment Secretary Bowles, and other cabinet officials, Congressman Olver, Holyoke officials and our colleagues in industry to move to the next stage of planning the HPCC. Next steps include design and site acquisition activities, establishing institutional agreements, and securing the state, federal, industry and university resources necessary to commence development. It is our shared objective to target initiating construction next fall for occupancy late in 2011.
The establishment of the Holyoke HPCC would represent the most significant partnership among state government, leading research universities and private industry in the history of the Commonwealth. We believe that it would also represent an important catalyst for economic and workforce development in Holyoke and the Pioneer Valley.