The Hawaii Open Supercomputing Center at the University of Hawaii will receive $5 million for the expansion of research initiatives and facility upgrades, Senators Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel K. Akaka announced.

The money was appropriated in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010 that was approved by the Senate in December and is now released for use by the University of Hawaii.

"In order for Hawaii to seriously compete in the global economy we must continue to innovate by investing in high technology and developing the intellectual and physical infrastructure necessary to support growth," said Senator Inouye.

"As information technology advances, our infrastructure must keep up," said Senator Akaka. "This funding will help Hawaii to lead in a rapidly changing economy."

HOSC is dedicated to supporting research, training, and education critical to astronomy, oceanography, geophysics, atmospheric sciences, ocean engineering, agriculture, energy, civil and environmental engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, medicine, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, economy, business, and computer sciences.

HOSC will acquire a new "open" system and storage capability that will be housed at the Maui High Performance Computing Center, but which will be physically separate from the secure Department of Defense systems and networks.

This federal investment will help support the initial open computing system, storage, and networking equipment, software, minor facility upgrades and startup operating costs with the expectation that the facility will become self-sustaining after two years.