Holyoke, November 15th, representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the City of Holyoke, Boston University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University and the University of Massachusetts, and industry partners EMC and CISCO gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the completion of the MGHPCC facility.
Holyoke, November 15th, representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the City of Holyoke, Boston University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University and the University of Massachusetts, and industry partners EMC and CISCO gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the completion of the MGHPCC facility.
Following welcoming remarks by Mayor Alex Morse, Dr. Susan Hockfield, President Emerita of MIT, told how the idea for a new shared high performance computing facility came about, in particular praising former UMass President Jack Wilson, and the power of "crazy ideas!" Dr. Hockfield was followed by Jeff Nick, SVP and Chief Technology Officer for EMC Corporation, Larry Payne, VP, Public Sector, Cisco Systems and Lt. Governor Tim Murray, who emphasized Holyoke's strategic location and the value of such a flagship project to the region. Among his remarks, Governor Deval Patrick said “This landmark project is a testament to what is possible when government, academia and business work together, and it will serve as an economic development model for the state and the nation for generations to come.”
Immediately following the final speech, by Dr. Robert Caret President of UMass, students from Holyoke High School and Dean Technical High School re-buried a time-capsule from the original ground-breaking. That done, the speakers made their way to the entrance of the facility to cut the ribbon.
Inside was a buffet reception, during which posters, videos and demonstrations were shared. Besides in-house material, presenters included Holyoke Community College/Dean Technical High School , the Holyoke Innovation District Task Force, the City of Holyoke Planning and Economic Development Department, CAITE (Commonwealth Alliance for Information Technology Education), the Holyoke chapter of Girls Inc. as well as members of the CI project team. There were also educational posters and videos contributed by Turner Construction, Leggatt McCall Properties, and M + W Architects.
Tours led by project members allowed almost 200 guests the opportunity to visit the secure portion of the facility.
Thanks to the tour leaders John Goodhue, MGHPCC, Leo Donnelly, Harvard, Eric D'Souza , Harvard, Glenn Bresnahan, BU, Wayne Gilmore, BU, Karl Neubauer, Leggatt McCall Properties, Rajiv Shridhar, Northeastern, Ralph Zottola, UMass, Brian Podesta, UMass, Gerry Lotto, Harvard, Van Duros, Turner Construction, Jim Culbert, MGHPCC and Kevin Helm, MGHPCC as well as volunteers from the UMass President's Office staff and the UMass Amherst Computer Science Department staff who helped make the event a success: Kristin Cormier, Sue McAndrew, Sheryl Jablonski, Jon Pike, Debbie Benoit, Kristen Gibbons, Jean Joyce, Laurie Connors and Karren Sacco. Particular thanks to Mary Belisle, Turner Construction, who provided invaluable assistance with preparations on event day.
