Bridging the digital divide in research: Introducing Chicago Computes

Dear UIC faculty and staff,

We are pleased to announce the launch of Chicago Computes, part of the Forward Initiative IT strategy at the University of Illinois Chicago. Chicago Computes, a comprehensive effort across disciplines, aims to provide faculty and researchers with fully subsidized access to an initial base of research computing, visualization and/or data storage resources.

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Innovation and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research collaborated to develop Chicago Computes, which will accelerate UIC’s research mission while bridging digital divides and promoting equal access to foster a more inclusive, diverse research community.

Launching Feb. 1, Chicago Computes comes at a critical time: Demand for computing and data storage resources is on the rise, and researchers across various disciplines are seeking digital tools to tackle complex research and scholarship challenges. These resources are crucial for research in fields such as artificial intelligence, computational biology and data science and are becoming increasingly needed in disciplines that historically didn’t require extensive computational resources, such as the social sciences, economics and humanities.

Through Chicago Computes, UIC faculty and their lab members, regardless of discipline, can now apply for fully subsidized, group-based access to a range of digital resources, including high-performance computing clusters such as CPUs, secure computing environments for sensitive datasets and research data storage solutions.

Chicago Computes includes consultation and support from a group of dedicated facilitators to ensure participants are adequately trained on how to leverage these resources. These facilitators come from diverse scientific disciplines and professional backgrounds, from medicine, engineering, bioinformatics and data science to physics, visualization, system architecture and data engineering.

Chicago Computes will pave the way for a more equitable and collaborative future in research cyber infrastructure, aligned with UIC’s commitment to inspiring research excellence. The program was made possible with support and investment from the Forward Initiative, launched in 2020 as part of UIC’s revamped IT strategy of plans and technology roadmaps to upgrade, optimize and/or modernize key areas of campus infrastructure.

Providing equitable access to cutting-edge resources will not only elevate our institution but also reshape the landscape of possibility and empower the UIC community to push the boundaries of innovation. Visit the Chicago Computes website for more information.

Regards,

T.J. Augustine
Vice Chancellor for Innovation

Joanna Groden
Vice Chancellor for Research

Matt Riley
Associate Vice Chancellor for Innovation and CIO

Himanshu Sharma
Associate CIO for Research Technologies and Innovation

For more information, please contact:
TJ Augustine
ithelp@uic.edu