Research
Computing
Our research facilitation experts provide a range of services and solutions for campus researchers. Learn about what we offer and how we can help.
Data-Driven Research on Campus begins with Integrated DigitaL Infrastructure
UC Merced's Cyberinfrastructure and Research Technologies (CIRT) team strives to bring research computing, high-speed networking, and advanced visualization to campus researchers across all disciplines. We can help you use supercomputers to work faster, visualize the complexity of your data to work smarter, and collaborate across campus or around the world for broader impacts.
We utilize approaches that are flexible enough to accommodate your needs, while still adhering to proven best practices. We can help you manage the complex relationship with the computing technology you use to advance your work.
We offer a range of services to assist scholars, such as complimentary training and guidance, drop-in office hours, and consultation services. Our consultation services provide advice on scholarly workflows, equipment purchases, and utilizing advanced cyberinfrastructure, including high-performance computing (HPC) on both the MERCED and Pinnacles clusters, active research data storage on BorgStore, immersive visualization using the Wide Area Visualization Environment (WAVE), and data collaboration through the 10-40Gbps Science DMZ research network.
In partnership with the UC Merced Library, we offer a variety of workshops in Data Carpentry and Software Carpentry. We also offer customizable workshops in GitHub, Jupyterlab (aka Jupyter Notebooks), and targeted HPC training.
aa few updates from
Fall 2023
In an effort to cut costs for research technology, CIRT has partnered with Graduate Division to bring no-cost Overleaf licenses to campus. These licenses are available to everyone—whether you have an existing Overleaf account or not.
With a UC Merced Overleaf license, you’ll get access to
- Unlimited number of invited collaborators (& link sharing)
- Full project history view (to see progress and revert changes)
- GitHub integration (2-way sync)
- Priority support (from Overleaf)
- & more
For researchers who may have needs that exceed our campus computing capabilities, please refer to resources such as the national-level computing resources known as ACCESS. ACCESS offer significant amounts of computing time to researchers interested in trying HPC at large scales.
Research Support That ScaleS with your Project
CIRT facilitates access to on-campus computational resources and helps to scale your workflows to regional and national HPC resources. CIRT’s mission is to help you navigate across these HPC users with ease.
Interested in scaling your workflows? Schedule a consultation with us!
Pinnacles HPC Cluster
Pinnacles HPC Cluster is UC Merced’s latest MRI acquisition that serves as a centerpiece for high-impact work in UC Merced’s scientific research. This shared computer is used by researchers to advance scientific workflows ranging from quantum chemistry to cognitive science. Currently, Pinnacles has more than 2000 CPU cores, including 2 GPU compute nodes with 2 NVIDIA A100 GPU cards each.
Pinnacles cluster is supported by the National Science Foundation Award OAC- 2019144.
Merced Cluster
Multi-Environment Research Computer for Exploration and Discovery
MERCED H{C Cluster is a 2096 core cluster with a wide variety of common HPC software packages, user-specific software, and advanced scheduling using Slurm.
cirt recharge restart
CIRT offers pay-per-use recharge services for MERCED cluster core-hours and Enhanced User Support. The Provost's office has generously provided bridge funding, enabling uninterrupted recharge services since February 2023. This support has been instrumental in providing recharge services seamlessly and minimizing disruptions for computational research. However, it's important to note that the bridge funding is scheduled to conclude on June 30, 2024. Faculty members are advised to consider this timeline and are recommended to incorporate CIRT services into their grant funding proposals to ensure ongoing support.
Got a machine learning task? Try the
NAUTILUS Cluster
Cognitive Hardware and Software Ecosystem, Community Infrastructure (CHASE-CI) provides the Nautilus Cluster—a cloud-community-based approach to delivering affordable but advanced data and computation with millions of Graphics Processing Units (GPU) cores for machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) research.
Led by UCSD, CHASE-CI allows researchers across all 10 UC campuses to conduct research into advanced machine-learning techniques in a Kubernetes-orchestrated containerized software environment.
CHASE-CI is supported by the National Science Foundation Award 1730158.
our Services
Active Research Data Storage
CIRT provides storage for your active primary research data. Designed to be robust, reliable, and easy to access for users on MERCED and Pinnacles GPC clusters, this storage is recommended for the following:
- Data Storage for active research workflows on MERCED cluster
- Fast read-write data access to/from HPC cluster compute nodes
Data Management
Through a partnership with the University Library, CIRT offers services in developing a Data Management Plan for research data, including sensitive research data such as HIPAA data through the use of the DMPTool (see DMPTool.org). We can also help in specifying application specific storage solutions for purchase.
HPC OFFICE Hours
CIRT runs weekly office hours to support HPC users. New and veteran HPC users are welcome to drop in for training and help with general and specific questions regarding HPC use and CIRT services. HPC office hours are a great place to obtain peer mentoring and expert support on topics such as:
- writing and using code
- job submission
- parallelization
- compiling
- job arrays
Get in Contact
Contact the Cyberinfrastructure and Research Technologies team to talk about how CIRT can help with your specific research needs.
