HP Services will help design and deploy the system and will provide on-going onsite support services for UB. In addition, HP is providing funds for a two-year post-doctoral fellowship aimed at implementing a computational and data grid in western New York.

"HP technology will foster protein-structure determination research that UB scientists are conducting with colleagues at the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute by supporting a large data warehouse that we generate and then mine in order to optimize our programme in molecular structure determination", stated Dr. Russ Miller, UB distinguished professor of computer science and engineering, senior scientist at the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute and director of the Center for Computational Research.

UB's new HP StorageWorks SAN links to a heterogeneous Grid, giving researchers more efficient access to vital data and a stable, flexible platform that enables the university to adapt to future infrastructure requirements and processes.

The open SAN is composed of HP StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Arrays, an HP StorageWorks ESL9595 tape backup solution and UNIX-based HP AlphaServer GS1280 systems. HP Consulting and Integration Services helped design and build the system and will provide on-site technical assistance for a minimum of two years.

The SAN also will support researchers in UB's Department of Structural Biology at the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute. George DeTitta, Ph.D., executive director of the institute and UB professor of structural biology, plans to use the SAN for his research on macromolecular crystal growth.

"Together UB and HP are setting a precedent for advancing computational research that will lead to breakthrough science", stated Dr. Miller.

HP is providing funds to support a post-doctoral student in UB's Center for Computational Research who will focus on critical aspects of Grid computing. This student also will serve as a liaison between the research centre and key scientists and engineers at HP.

This post-doctoral student will join Dr. Miller's research team, which was the recipient of a $2 million National Science Foundation award, to implement a computational and data Grid in western New York that ties together facilities in a variety of organisations. This Grid is currently operational in beta form and is using the Shake-and-Bake algorithm of molecular structure determination as its test vehicle.

"HP has a longstanding history of providing technologies that meet the most demanding computational challenges", stated Michael Humke, director of Higher Education, HP. "Our work with UB exemplifies how we can build a foundation for an environment that adapts to the campus' evolving needs and helps the university chart new ground in life sciences and bioinformatics."