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In addition to the normal college costs of tuition and housing, students are often tasked with purchasing materials and resources for their classes, and in some cases these purchases include computers or technology with multi-thousand-dollar price tags.

To help make technology and needs for class more accessible, Basil Masri Zada, an assistant professor of instruction, has been developing a supercomputer for the Chaddock + Morrow College of Fine Arts. The supercomputer is designed so students can remotely access a central supercomputing power from any device, rendering old technology like iPads and Chromebooks capable of running advanced programs and apps needed for academic work.

鈥淚t became a part of accessibility for the students,鈥� Masri Zada said. 鈥淭hey could not do what they needed to be doing because we don鈥檛 have a computer lab that would run the apps鈥o I started experimenting based on my experiences with remote desktops and I started to work with Ohio University IT to find ways, and we converted one computer we had to become a remote computer and we served 15 students on it.鈥�

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The earliest version of the supercomputer could accommodate 15 students, but only three concurrently. After the initial experiment, Masri Zada applied for a grant through the Ohio University 1804 Fund and received $100,000, which was matched by the College of Fine Arts to create a $200,000 budget for the project. The new version of the supercomputer has been in testing all semester with projects ranging from creative coding to 3D modeling to building video games.

鈥淚 have been testing with at least 60 to 80 students between Digital Art + Technology, some students in Photography, a lot of Interior Architecture, a couple grad students,鈥� Masri Zada said.

The professor plans to continue developing the supercomputer over the summer in collaboration with other University departments.

鈥淚T always has ideas of how we could expand it鈥r even collaborate with other departments in the University,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e could invest together so that would make the parts cheaper. In conversation with the college, we have plans to keep expanding this project for at least the next four years.鈥�

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Continuing to expand the project would allow students in other colleges to experience the same benefits students in the College of Fine Arts have, which Masri Zada has been a firsthand witness to.

鈥淪tudents really have seen a difference,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have students who have computers that are five and eight years old and they were able to run programs that were impossible to run before.鈥�

Additionally, Masri Zada believes students appreciate that they are not only able to run these programs, but they are able to do it in a cost-effective way.

鈥淚t is a really big difference, attending a school that has something like this versus going to another school where you need to buy a $4,000 or $3,000 or $2,000 device every two years because they run out of power faster,鈥� he said.

In addition to expanding within the university, Masri Zada hopes the supercomputer concept extends its reach to other schools across the country.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to show this as a pilot for other schools鈥ecause it is unique,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t would be good for engineering; it would be good for anyone who might need a remote computer with a graphic card support 鈥� not a lot of colleges or schools of art have that remote access to a powerful computer.鈥�