Engineering is a field that often requires big computers to analyze big problems. The College of Engineering works closely with the High Performance Computing (HPC) group at ISU to ensure that Engineering software is available on the HPC clusters at ISU.
What HPC resources are available?
Currently, there are three main clusters available to students and researchers.
- Nova. This the most advanced cluster on campus. Researchers purchase computing resources that are added to the pool of systems in the Nova cluster. Includes GPU nodes often used for Deep Learning.
- Condo. This is an older research cluster that includes compute both purchased and free compute nodes.
- HPC Class. Strictly for teaching purposes. Instructors can request access for students in a class.
See the HPC Systems and Equipment page for details about the hardware available in each of these clusters.
Engineering Applications on the Clusters
There are several commercial Engineering applications along with many frequently used development libraries available on the clusters:
Commercial Software Titles
- Abaqus. A versatile set of tools for solving problems in structural and fluid mechanics.
- ANSYS. Tools for solving problems in structural mechanics, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and electronics. The clusters are equipped with ANSYS Remote Schedule Manager so you can submit cluster jobs directly from your ANSYS desktop.
- COMSOL. A general purpose tool for solving a variety of problems in Physics and Engineering.
- Fluent (ANSYS Fluids). Also accessible with ANSYS RSM.
- HFSS (ANSYS Electronics)
- Intel Parallel Studio Cluster Edition. Compilers and software libraries for C/C++, Fortran, MPI, and MKL.
- Matlab (Matlab Parallel Server). In addtion to Matlab, the clusters are
- Mathematica
- Tecplot
- STAR-CCM+ (restricted to certain users)
Non-commercial Development and Simulation Systems
- Deal/II
- OpenFOAM
- PETSc
- DAFoam
- Mach Aero
In addition, there are a large number of modules available for Python and R.