Renaissance Computing Institute

Focus Areas Main

Biosciences & Medicine

Disaster & Environmental Research

Economic Development

Education & Outreach

Faculty Fellows

High Performance Computing

Humanities, Arts & Social Science

Visualization & Collaborative Environments

Completed Projects

RENCI Focus Areas

Focus Areas at the Renaissance Computing Institute are multidisciplinary and multi-institutional. They aim to help researchers, educators, businesses and communities use new technologies, computational resources and RENCI expertise to solve problems, make breakthrough discoveries and compete in the global economy.

Biosciences and Medicine
Sensors that collect real-time vital statistics from hospital patients, sensors that monitor chronic conditions, and algorithms that integrate patient health statistics with environmental data to predict potential health crises could save lives and reduce healthcare costs. RENCI works with medical researchers to develop technology tools and the supporting cyberinfrastructure to better manage chronic diseases and better monitor ICU patients so that changes in their conditions can be spotted quickly. RENCI also partners with researchers in molecular biology, genomics, proteomics, and related fields to develop interdisciplinary cyberinfrastructure for studying the genetic causes of diseases.

Disaster and Environmental Research
Disasters – from hurricanes and floods in eastern North Carolina to landslides in the mountains to ice storms in the central Piedmont – are a prime example of a multifaceted issue that no single discipline can effectively address. And they are costly: Between 1980 and 2005, North Carolina suffered more than 20 weather-related disasters that caused at least 1$billion in damage, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s National Climate Data Center. It is one of four states, along with Florida, Georgia and Alabama, to endure more than 20 billion-dollar weather disasters during that time.

RENCI’s disaster and environmental research efforts bring together disparate technologies and communities to better comprehend the processes of our natural environment, including atmospheric and marine sciences, and address the challenges related to disaster: scientists who develop atmospheric hydrologic and storm surge models; agencies that put together evacuation plans; topographical and historic data; transportation models; wireless and sensor technologies and high-end computers that model scenarios in real-time.

Economic Development
From data mining and compute resources for biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms to help in creating virtual storefronts for small businesses, RENCI is committed to giving North Carolina the technology resources to compete and prosper in the global economy.

Education and Outreach
Innovative technologies must be available to all our citizens if they are to have a transformative impact on society. RENCI builds partnerships with a wide range of groups—including students and faculty at community colleges and minority serving institutions and small businesses owners—and gives them access to information age tools of empowerment.

High Performance Computing
New scientific breakthroughs and the future development of innovative products will depend on having a comprehensive computing infrastructure and systems that are scalable, accessible, reliable and constantly improving their performance levels. RENCI’s high performance computing research includes work in performance evaluation, optimization, input/output, and data access and federation.

Humanities, Arts and Social Science Computing
As computers have evolved into ubiquitous knowledge management systems, scholars in the humanities, arts and social sciences have begun to investigate how computer technologies can be exploited in their work. RENCI is exploring innovative applications of computing power, storage capacity and collaboration tools to aid research and education in the humanities, arts and social sciences.

Visualization and Collaborative Environments
The real world happens in three dimensions and any technologies that help to recreate the full dimensions and interactivity of real life contribute to understanding and discovery. RENCI’s Visualization and Collaborative Environments Group explores how technology can make scientific problem solving, long-distance collaboration, and even artistic expression more meaningful.

Completed Projects
The dynamic nature of RENCI means that our focus areas and research projects change as the needs of the state of North Carolina and the research community change. Our vision for completed projects is that they live on within academia, industry and government in some form, putting RENCI innovations to practical use.