EMC Provides Storage Infrastructure to North Carolina State University Libraries as Platinum Member of Powered By Program

HOPKINTON, Mass. - May 28, 2013 -

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) announced today that it is providing storage and computing infrastructure to North Carolina State University Libraries as a founding Platinum member of the university’s Powered By program. The James B. Hunt Jr. Library, which opened on North Carolina State University’s Centennial Campus in early 2013, sets a new benchmark for technologically sophisticated learning spaces. EMC® is supporting the Hunt Library’s goal of offering the University and its partners the computing infrastructure needed to enable new ways to investigate data, large-scale visualization and graphic-intensive applications, immersive simulation environments, and interactive, cloud-based computing.

EMC is providing storage technologies, including its Isilon scale-out NAS solutions, to power Hunt Library’s private cloud, virtual desktop, and virtual server infrastructure. This project is part of the company’s longstanding ‘EMC Information Heritage Initiative,’ which works to protect and preserve the world’s information for future generations and make it globally accessible in digital form for research and education purposes. Past EMC Information Heritage Initiative-sponsored endeavors include: supporting the Vatican Apostolic Library (Rome, Italy) in digitizing its catalogue of historic manuscripts and incunabula; supporting the JFK Library (Boston, USA) in the process of digitizing and archiving its entire collection; and supporting the Herzogin Anna Amalia Library (Weimar, Germany), home to a unique collection of Faust first editions.

Early projects that have already capitalized on the library’s computing power include:

• A powerfully realistic simulator to train ROTC midshipmen to operate the bridge of modern naval vessels;
• 3-D recreation of St. Paul’s Cross during John Donne’s tenure at the cathedral to demonstrate the impact of 17th-century sermons as they were actually delivered;
• Sophisticated student-created video games inspired by the University’s acclaimed Digital Games Research Center;
• Virtual crime scene simulations; and
• Visualizations that explore the mobility of materials through cell walls.

The Hunt Library serves both as NC State’s second main library and as the intellectual and social heart of the university’s Centennial Campus. Named the nation’s top research park in 2007, Centennial Campus is a nexus of collaboration where students and faculty work with more than sixty corporate and governmental partners to craft the innovations that will shape tomorrow. The Hunt Library contains one of the most powerful sets of visualization technologies at a US public university. In addition, the Hunt Library’s computing and storage power is a key resource for the NCSU Libraries’ leadership role in numerous leading-edge, multi-institutional projects to curate and make accessible large sets of data.  

Customer Quote:

Susan K. Nutter, Vice Provost and Director of the NCSU Libraries

“One of our core goals for the Hunt Library has been to provide a new type of technologically immersive space where collaboration and creativity would be encouraged to flourish. We could not be more proud to have EMC as a partner in just that sort of collaboration, not only for the equipment they provided but especially for the expert guidance that helped bring our vision to life.  It has been an inspired partnership.”

EMC Executive Quote:

Christopher E. Goode, Vice President and Chief Public Affairs Officer

“EMC is proud to continue to expand our partnership with NC State. The intersection of information and collaboration is where innovation is born. By creating an environment that is both nurturing and technologically on the cutting edge, the new Hunt Library will provide the knowledge and tools that will enable NC State and its innovation community to lead and to grow exponentially for generations to come.”

Additional Resources:

• Read more about EMC’s Information Heritage Initiative
• Connect with EMC via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and ECN