Opening of New High-Performance Computing Lab
Top Scientists from California, WVU, and Washington, D.C., Gather in West Virginia
(Rocket Center, West Virginia) - Officials and Representatives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) from Washington, D.C., and College Park, Maryland; the San Diego Supercomputer Center(SDSC) from California; West Virginia University (WVU) from Morgantown, West Virginia; the West Virginia Congressional Delegation and Governors office; and Information Manufacturing Corporation (IMC) participated Wednesday in the ceremonial opening of the NARA Electronic Records Archives (ERA) Research Laboratory at the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory (ABL), Rocket Center, West Virginia.
In a letter to participants, Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) wrote:
"I welcome the National Archives to West Virginia with open arms! It was just over a year ago that the Archivist of the United States, Allen Weinstein, approached my office to discuss the agency's interest in ABL. As many of you are aware, for the past several years, I have been busy working to transform ABL from a World War II-era facility into a world-class complex that is now fulfilling a multitude of Department of Defense and other agency requirements. I am so very pleased that yet another agency has discovered that West Virginia has what it takes to allow the government to perform its work more efficiently and cost effectively."
As a part of the ceremony, Dr. Reagan Moore, Distinguished Scientist and Director at the SDSC from the University of California at San Diego, presented state-of-the-art National Archives/National Science Foundation supported research in advanced rules-oriented computer systems that serve as the leading edge for the NARA ERA of the future. These computer systems will be necessary for the Nation to preserve its electronic records archives in perpetuity, or, as NARA ERA Director, Dr. Ken Thibodeau put it "for the life of the Republic." Participants embraced the importance of the work sponsored by NARA nationwide, and the work to be done at ABL, on the ERA program. As Admiral(Ret.)T. Joseph Lopez, President, IMC, stated in his remarks: "NARA uses two phrases that I think capture the importance of our work here: 'Democracy Starts Here' and 'Preserving the Past to Protect the Future.'
"We are going to be here for a long time" said Robert Chadduck, NARA ERA Principal Technologist in College Park, Maryland, and whose long standing family roots and home are in West Virginia. NARA recently established a 10-year research and educational partnership with WVU to study electronic records at WVU related to the NARA ERA Research Laboratory at ABL. This new National Archives' laboratory at ABL targets the unsolved computer science and engineering challenges contributing to the sustained management, preservation, and access to electronic records collections that document our nation's history and democracy, our citizen's rights, and our nation's security and defense. These collections serve as resources for civic education and research. In comparison to traditional records existing in paper, parchment, maps, film, or audio tape media, electronic records result from the increasing use of computers in the conduct of federal business. The Federal Government is producing these records, and so are State and local governments, small business and corporations, colleges and universities, doctors and hospitals, law enforcement agencies, and courts. Without some means to preserve them, important documents could be lost or at least become very difficult to access and read. The NARA ERA program is working to preserve all the Federal records, to ensure their authenticity, and to make them accessible far into the future, for our grandchildren and their grandchildren.
Admiral Lopez offered praise and appreciation for the participants, reserving special comments for Senator Byrd: "All of us owe Senator Byrd a deep measure of gratitude for the opportunities that have been provided through his arduous support. Without his efforts, today would not have been possible."
Attendees at the "informal" ceremony numbered over fifty and included representatives from the offices of Governor Joe Manchin III, Congressman Alan B. Mollohan, and Senator John D. Rockefeller IV; WVU; NARA; the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center; the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA - the ABL landlord); and the ATK Tactical Propulsion and Controls Division.
About Information Manufacturing Corporation:
Founded in 1998, IMC is an established innovator in the field of information technology and integrated knowledge management services for clients in the Health, Defense, Logistics, Civilian, and National Security business sectors. With its headquarters in Rocket Center, West Virginia, and corporate facilities in Fairfax, Virginia; Cowen, Webster County, West Virginia; Hinton, West Virginia; Morgantown, West Virginia; and St. Petersburg, Florida, IMC employs over 400 people and has developed an outstanding track record in the creation and implementation of high-tech data management solutions for both government and private sector enterprises. IMC's cutting-edge integration of knowledge services has garnered the company contracts with several Federal government organizations such as the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Department of Homeland Security, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), and several Department of Defense agencies.
