InnovateHolyoke is the online hub for information about the High Performance Computing Center that is set to open up in Holyoke in 2011.

The GHPCC planned for Holyoke will not only provide an invaluable increase in the computing capacity that would bring all these benefits to the partnering institutions. It would also serve as a showcase of green energy use and green facilities design, be scalable to meet the needs of additional partners and computational demands, and serve as a catalyst for economic, educational, and workforce development in Holyoke and the region.MIT had developed plans in 2007 to locate a high performance computing center in Holyoke due to the region’s quality access to the internet, affordable land, and availability of low-cost and renewable energy. The impact of the global economic recession led MIT to suspend their plans and subsequently reach out to leaders at the University of Massachusetts to jointly address capacity needs for high performance computing.

This is an important development for the region and will help to establish a technology hub in Western MA. I have been appointed to the education/training subcommittee as a member of the Regional Employment Board and will hopefully have more to share as we start the work of the committee.