UT Undergrads Get to Touch Kraken

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A group of undergraduate students from the University of Tennessee got some hands on experience with the monster Kraken supercomputer.  The opportunity was made possibly by the Joint Institute for Computational Science.  Roughly thirty students in the data structures and algorithm analysis class offered through the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science were required to take a one-day training course before they were permitted to run amok on the machine.

We were able to process information on (the Kraken) that we might not be able to process anywhere else,” David Prenshaw, sophomore in computer science, said.

It provides enormous capability for academic researchers in the U.S. to explore problems and issues of national importance,” said Phil Andrews, director of the National Institute for Computational Sciences.

This is quite an opportunity for undergraduate students.  What we sometimes fail to realize is that undergraduate students become graduate students and subsequently senior researchers.  Its highly important to foster the minds of those looking for direction in the next stages of their life.  Kudos to JICS and UT for giving the undergrads the attention they need.

For more info, read the full release here.