OSC Expands Computer and Data Science Training at Mount Union with HPC Access

Key Takeaways

• OSC provides Mount Union students with shared HPC resources via Open OnDemand
• Faculty integrate Jupyter and Apache Spark on OSC for hands‑on data science labs
• Uniform Unix‑like environment eliminates personal computer setup barriers in courses
• Experience aligns graduates with industry standards used by major tech firms
• Campus Champions program expands OSC adoption across Ohio higher‑education institutions

Pulse Analysis

High‑performance computing is no longer a niche reserved for research labs; it is becoming a core component of undergraduate curricula. Ohio’s statewide supercomputing hub, the Ohio Supercomputer Center, has partnered with the University of Mount Union to embed this capability directly into classroom instruction. By leveraging OSC’s Open OnDemand web portal, students can launch interactive sessions, run Jupyter notebooks, and access powerful clusters from any browser, sidestepping the time‑consuming setup of local environments. This approach democratizes access to large‑scale resources, allowing educators to focus on concepts rather than infrastructure.

The practical benefits are evident in courses that now incorporate tools such as Apache Spark for big‑data analytics and AI‑driven experiments. Instructors like Adam Hartley use OSC to spin up Spark clusters on demand, giving students real‑world exposure to distributed processing without the overhead of cluster administration. The uniform Unix‑like environment mirrors the platforms used by major technology companies, ensuring that graduates leave with experience that translates directly to the workplace. Moreover, the Campus Champions program, spearheaded by faculty member Colin Campbell, spreads best practices across Ohio’s higher‑education network, fostering a collaborative ecosystem of HPC‑enabled teaching.

For the regional economy, this partnership creates a pipeline of talent fluent in the same computational tools that power industry leaders such as Meta, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google. Students can list HPC and cloud‑native workflow experience on their résumés, differentiating themselves in a competitive job market. Looking ahead, OSC’s roadmap includes AI integration within Jupyter notebooks, promising even richer, AI‑assisted programming experiences for future cohorts. As more institutions adopt this model, Ohio positions itself as a hub for advanced computing education, driving innovation and workforce readiness.