Tucked away in a closet in Midwestern State University's Bolin Science Hall is a black machine whose only outward adornment is a few blinking lights. It may be unremarkable to look at but it's a powerful piece of equipment and the computer science department wants to share. The supercomputer nicknamed Turing (after Alan Turing, considered the father of modern computing) has been a cutting-edge addition for teaching students to be programmers of tomorrow. Assistant Professor of Computer Science Dr. Eduardo Colmenares says that other departments could put Turing to work also. Colmenares will introduce Turing's capabilities to the MSU community during the next Faculty Forum presentation at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23, in Legacy Hall's Multipurpose Room.

In his talk, "Bringing High Performance Computing Awareness to the MSU community," Colmenares will explain how working with Turing has not only given students valuable experience and high-demand skills to prepare them for careers in industry and research and development, but that it can be of benefit to other departments with its computational analysis and modeling capabilities.

Dr. Ranette Halverson, chair of computer science, hopes that other departments will bring work for Turing to do. "Turing can process massive quantities of data rapidly, so it is particularly applicable for processing all types of scientific data including oil and gas, bio-medical, and simulations," she said.

Turing's capabilities include a variety of multidisciplinary projects and research including analyzing techniques that improve the total execution time of a task, such as molecular dynamics modeling that simulates the movements of atoms and molecules in protein folding; and analyzing complex data, including applications for genome sequences, computational finance, fluid dynamics, and machine learning.

For the February Faculty Forum, presenters Kirsten Lodge and John Schulze are assigning homework to those who plan to attend. In their presentation, "Core Text Pedagogy: Its Significance and Methodology," they want to show how a text can be used in the academic core, so they are encouraging attendees to have read Euripides' Medea before the forum. Their talk will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20, in Legacy Hall's Multipurpose Room.

Lodge is associate professor of humanities and English and humanities program coordinator, and Schulze is assistant professor of English.

Faculty Forum is a monthly showcase for the research and creative endeavors of the Midwestern State University faculty. It is an opportunity for the campus and Wichita Falls communities to learn, engage, and sometimes discuss the novel ideas and explorations of the talented individuals who teach, discover, and create at MSU. Admission is free and open to all.