There are very few who would dispute that Google is on the cusp of modern technology, and those who do are probably smoking something. After all, Google is the company bringing us terrabit internet connection speeds, is developing cars that drive themselves, is giving us WiFi on planes, and … well, is running Google. One thing this means is that Google has an immensely powerful computer infrastructure. As the company continues its efforts to back research in a variety of fields, a new grant system has been developed that will give researchers an opportunity to tap into the CPU powerhouse that lies at Google’s foundation.
This program, dubbed the “Exacycle for Visiting Faculty Grant Program,” will distribute a billion core-hours to researchers around the globe. Exactly what “core-hours” mean in technical specifications is actually difficult to pinpoint, as core-hours isn’t one of the standard tracking units for CPU work (“bitcoins” being the more commonly used computation tracking unit). However, Google assures applicants that the amount granted represents a “magnitude larger than the computational resources most scientists normally have access to.”
Any research project requiring complex batch computation may be elligible for the grant, but Google has specified that they are interested in promoting development in fields like bio-medicine, weather and climate, energy, earth sciences, pharmaceuticals, and astronomy. Researchers who are given the grant will be required to work on-site at one of several Google locations around the globe.
To qualify for this Google grant, applicants must have a project that requires upward of 100 million core hours (which also means, simple math will tell us, that Google is looking for ten or fewer projects in total). Applications should be submitted by May 31st, 2011. More details can be found on the official Exacycle page.
[via the Official Google Blog]
