Nvidia CEO, Jen-Hsun "Jensen" Huang, and his wife, Lori, have given $50 million to Oregon State University (OSU) to build an innovation complex on campus, said the school on Saturday, Oct. 15.
The university has previously raised a total of $100 million in gifts to start a research and education center that will cost $200 million and have one of the most powerful supercomputers in the country.
The Nvidia supercomputer based on NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD and OVX SuperPOD systems will be available at the facility. It is meant to aid professors in solving difficult computational challenges.
The OSU supercomputer, powered by next-generation Nvidia CPUs, GPUs, and networking, is anticipated to be one of the world's fastest university supercomputers, with the ability to train the most significant AI models and run complicated digital twin simulations.
OSU Is Huangs' Alma Mater
Jensen Huang started and now runs Nvidia. He and his wife Lori both went to OSU and met in the College of Engineering.
OSU President Jayathi Murthy expressed her gratitude to the couple and their exceptional generosity and devotion to advancing research discovery and problem-solving.
In a report by VentureBeat, the couple said that OSU sparked both of their interest in computer science and engineering. They are generous to fund the AI-driven project, hoping to inspire future generations to fall in love with technology and its power to alter the world.
They described AI as the most revolutionary technology of our time. "This new AI supercomputer will enable OSU students and researchers to make very important advances in climate science, oceanography, materials science, robotics, and other fields," the couple stated.
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About the Upcoming Innovation Center
According to Murthy, the three-story, 150,000-square-foot facility is now being planned and is scheduled to open in 2025 at the campus in Corvallis, Oregon. It will include cutting-edge clean rooms and other advanced laboratories for scientific study.
Artificial intelligence (AI), materials science, and robotics will be studied at the center to help solve global problems in areas like climate science, oceanography, sustainability, and water resources.
The complex will also help OSU do research and teach classes that support the semiconductor and technology industries in Oregon and elsewhere.
Murthy said that the innovation center is a part of Oregon State's larger push to increase diversity, equality, and inclusion in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) classrooms and labs.
To supplement private donations and institutional funding, the university plans to apply for $75 million in state-funded bonds during the 2023 Oregon legislative session to construct a collaborative innovation center.
OSU Foundation's Second Fundraising and Engagement Drive
The Huangs' donation coincided with the OSU Foundation's second university-wide fundraising campaign.
The institution has received four $25 million or more campaign donations to date.
In 2021, it received a $50 million anonymous donation to finish Reser Stadium. Alumnus Gary Carlson gave the institution its first $50 million donation to designate the Gary R. Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine in 2018.
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Written by Trisha Kae Andrada