World-class equipment for a world-class lab

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is in the process of adding the world's largest, highest-performing nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer and one of the top supercomputers in the world to its suite of advanced equipment.

After nine years in development, a superconducting magnet, weighing 16 tons and standing 21 feet high, was delivered to PNNL in March. It is part of a 900 megahertz wide-bore nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer. The NMR is a powerful scientific instrument that will enable scientists to make new discoveries in chemical, physical, biological and life sciences. When fully operational, it will be the world's largest, highest- performing NMR, enabling researchers to investigate larger and more complex molecules at resolutions never before available. This system could enhance understanding of basic molecular and cellular processes and how those relate to damage or repair to DNA, disease development and protein interactions.

The Hewlett-Packard Linux-based supercomputer will allow researchers to apply computational science to fundamental questions such as how radioactive waste can be processed and stored, and how proteins interact and behave in order to model a living cell. Calculations that now take a month to complete will take one day on the new system. When fully operational in 2003, the supercomputer will have 50 times more disk space and hold 15 times as much memory as PNNL's current supercomputer, one of the world's most powerful when installed in 1997. The new supercomputer, with a price tag of $24.5 million, will be roughly 9,100 times faster than a current personal computer.

Both pieces of custom-built equipment are being installed in the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a user facility operated by PNNL. Scientists from around the world will be granted access to the equipment through a competitive proposal process.

www.pnl.gov/news/2002/02-08.htm
www.pnl.gov/news/2002/computer.htm