Florida: NSU. $80m New Research Facility. CFS and Megalodon.

[Firestormm]

13 February 2014
Nova Southeastern University to Build $80 Million Research Facility
Center for Collaborative Research to house IBM supercomputer and one of Florida's largest wet-labs

...On Thursday, Feb. 13, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) broke ground on a revolutionary Center for Collaborative Research (CCR) that will house an IBM supercomputer, one of Florida's largest wet labs, the NSU Technology Incubator and some of the world's most accomplished researchers.

"This new multidisciplinary center will provide our world-class team of researchers with the tools they need to continue to make discoveries that will impact the way we all live," said NSU President George L. Hanbury, Ph.D. "From developing new cancer treatments to finding new methods for environmental sustainability, the possibilities are endless."...

...NSU is classified as a research university with "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. More than 200 research projects are currently underway at NSU, including studies on cardiovascular disease, anti-cancer therapies, chronic fatigue syndrome, autism, coral reef restoration, stem cells and wildlife DNA forensics, among other subjects.

"The Center for Collaborative Research will expand the university's research capability and provide the infrastructure to advance knowledge, support innovations, and develop new research partnerships," said Gary S. Margules, Sc.D., vice president for the NSU Office of Research and Technology Transfer.

The CCR will provide wet labs for many of NSU's innovative researchers, as well as a General Clinical Research Center, which is an outpatient facility with a centralized clinical research infrastructure for investigators in multiple disciplines...

...
The new IBM supercomputer nicknamed "Megalodon" allows NSU to join an elite group of universities with this type of research computing power. The name Megalodon was chosen as it is the biggest prehistoric shark that ever lived and the largest predatory marine creature in the history of the planet. The multi-million dollar supercomputer was donated by Centaurus Energy in Houston, Texas.

"This supercomputer allows researchers to create more accurate models of complex processes, simulate problems once thought impossible to solve, and analyze increasing amounts of data generated by experiments in weeks or months, rather than the years required by conventional computers," said Eric S. Ackerman, Ph.D., dean of NSU's Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences.

The center will also house NSU's Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine; Rumbaugh-Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research; the Emil Buehler Research Center for Engineering, Science and Mathematics; and Broward County's only private incubator for information security businesses....

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[Firestormm]

Isn't it refreshing to see CFS being mentioned alongside other diseases in this way. Kind of makes me feel proud. Great news about a new facility. Love the new Shark computer. Don't understand it of course but I can't think of a more complex disease than CFS/ME. Seems to have baffled a great many up until now.

 

[Bob]

I wonder what a wet-lab is? It conjures mental images of researchers working in wet suits, walking around in a fine mist, and skidding around on wet tiles.

 

[Valentijn]

I wonder what a wet-lab is? It conjures mental images of researchers working in wet suits, walking around in a fine mist, and skidding around on wet tiles.

In this context they probably mean facilities for handling biological samples and such, as distinguished from computer processing facilities.

 

[alex3619]

I wonder what a wet-lab is? It conjures mental images of researchers working in wet suits, walking around in a fine mist, and skidding around on wet tiles.

[Satire] I hope its not a place they research how to train assassins. [End Satire]

NSU's Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine

Sounds promising. Its nice to have one place doing ME and CFS and autism research, along with MS etc.