Rice and the World Community Grid

Change the World with your Computer

What if idle personal computers in Rice offices could be harnessed to solve some of humanity’s most pressing problems? Now they can, thanks to an innovative national program and Rice’s Information Technology Division. In January 2007, Rice became a partner in the IBM-led World Community Grid, a group of more than 245 companies, associations, foundations, nonprofit organizations and academic institutions that contribute idle computer time for humanitarian research.World Community Grid uses Web-based technology to combine the processing power of computers in scattered locations to establish a permanent, flexible infrastructure that researchers can use to help solve complex problems related to cancer, AIDS and other pressing problems. Grid technology joins together many individual computers, creating a large system with massive computational power that far exceeds the power of a few supercomputers.

Read the full story in Rice News. 

Rice's involvement in the World Community Grid was also featured on Channel 11, KHOU-TV.

In January 2007, donating idle computer time was a viable way of contributing to global research projects.  In January 2009, Rice community members were encouraged to power off their computers when possible.

World Community Grid Security

Security is a top concern for World Community Grid and it is addressed seriously and vigilantly. For additional details on the grid's security measures, refer to the Security Overview  (.pdf file).