(05-26-2018 02:27 PM)eastisbest Wrote:  A virtual simulation facility that local industry, schools and infrastructure planners cannot possible afford and they can't find a revenue stream?

One job, I time-slotted the Cray at GE-Cinci, because we couldn't afford similar computing power and our computers didn't have the power to do anything within a reasonable time, let alone real-time. This is how revenue streams are created.

From the outside I guess, it seems simple. But you find the people that can program the darn things. Tell them if they can find customers in need of simulation they can time-slot the facility for a cut. Revenue stream AND someone else looks for the customers. Simulation tech that I've seen, has it's own support environment so that programs can be written and debugged off-line, limiting the need of real-time access.

Perhaps there isn't much free-time is available over University needs? Maybe it's already booked up. Just looked a little quiet the day I went.

I do not know all the issues, all I do know is that there have been numerous meetings with other potential UT and community users of the facility that have not resulted in much use beyond College of Medicine. If ProMedia had invested $10 million as was the original plan, perhaps the usage and business model for operation would be different. To my understanding it is not booked up, plenty of times and resources (including tech support) that are underutilized, especially given the start up and operational costs. I am not an expert to as to what the issues or challenges are, just know that for a $30 million operating budget investment, UT is not getting revenues to make it viable-especially with excessive annual operating costs.