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Wyoming prepared for supercomputer

Randy Bruns

Published August 18, 2007 at midnight

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Not so fast.

I am writing in response to Business Editor Rob Reuteman's column that appeared in the July 21 Rocky Mountain News titled "Colorado is losing labs, jobs to states with deep pockets."

It is understandable to use the success of other states to focus attention on deficiencies, or perceived deficiencies, of one's own state. I will confess to having done that myself a time or two. But to so bluntly attribute the reason that Colorado "lost" the National Center for Atmospheric Research supercomputer facility to "Wyoming wrote a bigger check" is a little arrogant, may be disingenuous and, frankly, misses the point.

The Colorado schools that competed for the facility are all excellent institutions, and certainly each could bring something to the table for NCAR. NCAR is a national research facility that happens to be based in Boulder.

The issue for NCAR and for the National Science Foundation is one of securing the maximum research capability for the federal dollar invested. A part of that equation was the fact that the Cheyenne community has made investments in property such that we could offer multiple shovel-ready sites, any of which would provide immediate build-out capability while preserving maximum expansion capability well into the future.

Then, there is the question of power and connectivity. Wyoming, a net exporter of power, is working hard to get more transmission capacity to ship electric power out of state. The supercomputer will require a massive amount of electrical power. With the generation and transmission constraints along the Front Range, there is solid logic to connecting the machine to a grid with ample capacity now and for the foreseeable future.

As far as connectivity for data, national fiber backbones of major carriers pass through Cheyenne. For example, Sprint's Front Range data enter that company's transcontinental backbone at the major switching hub in Cheyenne.

Don't get me wrong, greater Denver is a marvelous, world-class metropolitan area. But it isn't necessarily the center of everything.

Beyond that - and apparently to the surprise of some folks south of Wyoming - we also have a good research institution in the University of Wyoming. To the point that "Wyoming wrote a bigger check," that check was written to the University of Wyoming. Well before the supercomputer lab was looking for a new home, Wyoming was investing heavily in UW with the awareness, and mission, that investment in the future begins with the education system.

The growing capability of UW - a new School of Energy, more endowed chairs, increased focus on geo and computational sciences and increased capital construction - all were significant factors in the choice of that school as a partner in the project. It is an excellent "fit," and all geo-science research will benefit from that decision - including the excellent Colorado schools that "lost" the project.

One final point: Contrary to popular myth, Wyoming cannot simply "buy" economic development. In fact, Colorado's tool chest is much more varied and deeper than Wyoming's. The Wyoming Constitution expressly prohibits any governmental entity from waiving or abating taxes, waiving fees or making payments to any business or individual, period. If business or industry come here, it is because of the long-term value proposition the state offers. That is true for research labs, too, apparently.

Randy Bruns is chief executive officer of Cheyenne LEADS, a nonprofit economic development organization assisting business in other states to relocate to Wyoming. More info: cheyenneleads.org