IT@WMU brings Merit Network to campus to talk about national computing resources for WMU researchers
National Computing Resources for WMU Researchers: An Awareness Session
Merit Network, WMU's longtime partner, is coming to campus to walk through the national-scale computing resources available to researchers today, many at no cost. That includes high-performance computing (HPC), AI and GPU environments, large-scale data platforms, and the unique cybersecurity datasets Merit collects through its Network Telescope. Our goal is simple: make sure WMU researchers, instructors, and the teams that support them know these resources exist, understand how to get access, and start putting them to use. Along the way, we'd like to hear what would actually be helpful, so we know where to focus next.
WMU already supports research computing through the HPC Hub, which provides local HPC resources for faculty, staff, and students. This initiative will explore how WMU can complement and expand those capabilities by leveraging national research infrastructure and partnerships.
Upcoming Events
Building Bigger Science: National Research Computing, AI Resources, and the Future of Discovery
October 15, 2026 @ 1-2 p.m.
1260 Chemistry Building
Join Dr. Pierrette Renée Dagg, Merit Network’s Director of Research for an overview of today's national research computing ecosystem and how faculty and researchers can access powerful computing, storage, AI, and data resources without having to build or maintain their own infrastructure. Topics include:
- High-Performance Computing (HPC) opportunities
- AI and GPU-enabled research environments
- National Science Foundation computing resources (ACCESS and the NAIRR pilot)
- Open Science Grid (OSG) and the Open Science Data Federation (OSDF)
- National Research Platform (NRP)
- Cybersecurity datasets from Merit's National Distributed Network Telescope
- Faculty and student research opportunities
- Workforce development and teaching applications
- Building collaborative research workflows across institutions
Attendees will learn how these resources can directly support or complement local research computing efforts while creating new opportunities for scholarship, grant activity, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Research Computing Networking & Meet-and-Mingle
October 15, 2026 @ 2-3 p.m.
Chemistry Building 1st Floor Hallway
Stick around after the presentation for an informal hour with Dr. Dagg and your WMU colleagues. Bring your questions about the resources she covers, talk through how they might fit your own work, and connect with others across campus who are thinking about HPC, AI, and data-intensive research. No agenda, just conversation. Faculty, researchers, IT staff, and academic leaders are all welcome.
Why Attend?
Research is leaning harder on computing, AI, and large datasets every year, and many of the tools that make that work possible already exist at the national level, often at no cost. These sessions are a chance to find out what's available, how it fits alongside WMU's HPC Hub, and how to get started. They're also a chance for us to hear what you need, so we know where interest is and what's worth pursuing.