Arkansas will be receiving $20 million to develop a computing network designed for data analytics.
The National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) has awarded a five-year grant worth $20 million to build the computing network. The Arkansas Economic Development Commission’s Division of Science and Technology will be working alongside the University of Arkansas and other state colleges on the project.
Using the grant funding, researchers will create a program entitled “Data Analytics That Are Robust and Trusted,” or DART. These researchers will then create the Arkansas Research Platform which will “integrate existing high-performance computer resources at colleges and universities,” according to a University of Arkansas news release.
“Our goal is to make Arkansas a nationally recognized hub for data science research and innovation,” Jack Cothren, director of the U of A’s Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, professor of geosciences and the co-principal investigator of the award, said in a statement.
Over the course of the project, more than 40 scientists and researchers from across the state and at multiple universities will be participating in various capacities.
The DART program is slate to begin July 1 and run through June 2025.
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