Stony Brook Launches High-Powered Supercomputer Cluster to Advance AI Research
Stony Brook University has introduced NVwulf, a cutting-edge high-performance computing (HPC) GPU cluster designed to boost advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and data-intensive scientific research. The system became available to researchers who helped fund its purchase and their students for advanced testing on July 7, marking a significant upgrade in campus-wide computational capabilities.
Described as a “sister system” to the university’s existing SeaWulf cluster, NVwulf is part of an initiative to support the growing demands of AI-powered research. The project was made possible through support from the Department of Technology, AI & Society (DTAS) — a transformation of the former Department of Technology and Society — funded by New York Governor Kathy Hochul as part of a three-year, cross-campus effort to build one of the nation’s most compelling interdisciplinary AI and technology programs.
The NVwulf cluster is one of the first major research investments emerging from this initiative, developed in partnership with the Research Computing and Innovation team in the Division of Information Technology (DoIT), several academic departments, and senior leadership across both East and West campuses.
“NVwulf is both a symbol and a catalyst for what we’re building with the new Department of Technology, AI & Society,” said Andrew Singer, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS). “It reflects our commitment to creating the computational infrastructure and interdisciplinary ecosystem needed to lead in AI research, education, and innovation. By linking state-of-the-art GPU computing with an academic vision that spans engineering, data science, ethics, and public impact, we’re positioning Stony Brook as a national leader in responsible, cutting-edge AI.”
Firat Coskun, assistant director of advanced systems and operations at the Institute for Advanced Computational Science (IACS), emphasized the joint commitment across campuses. “The cross-campus investment in NVwulf underscores our shared vision: bringing together technical excellence and academic ambition to expand access to next-generation AI resources for Stony Brook’s research community,” said Coskun.
NVwulf will be deployed in phases, with Phase One featuring 24 NVIDIA H200 NVL GPUs, delivering up to 80 petaFLOPs (FP8) of performance for machine learning and 720 teraFLOPs (FP64) for scientific computing. Phase Two, expected later this fall, will further expand capacity to meet increasing campus demand.
Unlike other specialized resources such as the general-purpose SeaWulf, HIPAA-compliant ClinWulf, or the NSF-supported Ookami, NVwulf is Stony Brook’s most GPU-intensive cluster so far, designed specifically for AI and ML workloads.
“NVwulf is a significant addition to Stony Brook University’s overall computational capacity. NVwulf will undoubtedly help accelerate AI research across many academic disciplines,” said Stony Brook Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer Simeon Ananou.
“The new NVwulf GPU cluster has already become an essential computational resource for our group’s research,” said Youngwook Kee, an assistant professor in the Department of Radiology in the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook. “Our group develops novel MRI data acquisition strategies, advanced image reconstruction algorithms, biophysical signal models, and reinforcement learning-based self-scanning methods. These projects are all computationally demanding, and with the NVwulf’s multi-node configuration of multi-way NVIDIA H200 nodes, we have been able to significantly accelerate the search for optimal parameters across vast search spaces, bringing previously impractical experiments to completion within feasible timeframes.”
“This platform supports the full spectrum of research at Stony Brook, ranging from basic science to de-identified clinical and translational studies,” said David Cyrille, assistant vice president and chief research information officer at DoIT. “NVwulf gives our faculty access to advanced infrastructure that enables them to work more efficiently, smarter, and stay at the forefront of their fields.”
Cyrille noted that AI is now pervasive across disciplines, from biomedical imaging and molecular modeling to social media analytics and population health. “What sets NVwulf apart is its ability to support faculty developing their own domain-specific AI models, tools that are tuned to the nuances of their data, their questions, and their impact goals.”
Joel Saltz, chair of the Department of Biomedical Informatics, is already using NVwulf to improve cancer diagnostics through AI-based pathology image analysis.
“This is about empowering Stony Brook researchers with the latest-generation GPU hardware to address today’s most pressing scientific challenges,” Cyrille added. “What used to take a month can now be done in two weeks. That kind of acceleration changes the game.”
NVwulf is a dedicated resource for Stony Brook University researchers and students, designed for educational and research use.
“This cluster isn’t built to host third-party AI applications,” said David Carlson, computational scientist at IACS. “It’s meant to empower researchers — whether they’re simulating protein folding, tracking public sentiment, or developing AI-assisted diagnostics.”
The initiative is part of a long-term commitment to expand Stony Brook’s computational infrastructure. Planning is already underway for phases three and four, which will bring even more GPUs online to keep pace with emerging needs.
While the technical component of NVwulf was managed by DoIT’s advanced computing group, many across the university contributed, from the CIO’s office and facilities teams to faculty leaders in materials science, electrical and computer engineering, radiology, and pathology.
Researchers interested in using NVwulf may visit the Research and Computing Informatics (RCI) website for access and support.
— Beth Squire