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Bruce Segee   Watch the video   High Resolution Low Resolution

What's the role of UMaine's supercomputer in terms of economic development? 

The supercomputer is actually located at Target Technology Center, which has the information technology business incubator in the state of Maine. We do a lot of work with small companies--and also with large companies--in terms of computer modeling. We've also got some joint projects with companies that are located at Target Technology Center, and we're looking to expand our interactions with other entities in the state, notably other research labs and educational institutions. The edge is to be able to compete nationally in high technology research and innovation. With a supercomputer, you're talking about computational capabilities that are hundreds of times what a conventional computer can do. And that's really it right there, is that if you're limited by the output of your computer, literally you can do a year's worth of computation in only a few days, and that gives businesses a leg up.