Webster University

07/01/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/01/2026 14:54

Webster Receives an NSF Grant to Create a Bootcamp for Cyberinfrastructure Research and Training

Webster Receives an NSF Grant to Create a Bootcamp for Cyberinfrastructure Research and Training

July 01, 2026

Webster University received a $300,000 National Science Foundation CyberTraining award to create a summer bootcamp for undergraduates to study and research cyberinfrastructures, it was announced this month. The project will run from Jan. 1, 2027 through Dec. 31, 2028. It will be led by Webster University Professor Xiaoyuan Suo, along with professors from two regional universities.

"This project will provide undergraduate students with hands-on experience using high-performance computing to solve real-world scientific problems across STEM disciplines," Sou said. "Through peer mentoring and authentic research experiences, students will gain the computational skills increasingly required in today's STEM workforce. By leveraging NSF-supported HPC( high-performance computing) resources and collaborating with partner institutions, we hope to expand access to advanced cyberinfrastructure training and help prepare the next generation of researchers and innovators."

Professors Jeffrey Woodward and Ashley Elias from Missouri Western State University and Professor Colin DeGraf from Truman State University were co-investigators for the project.

The camp will be held in the summers of 2027 and 2028 and will be open to 20 undergraduates and five trained peer mentors from the partner institutions. They will have access to the regional Hellbender cluster supercomputer operated by the University of Missouri, Columbia (Mizzou). The grant also will support ways to incorporate cyberinfrastructure training into STEM coursework as well as research conducted during the normal academic year.

In 2023, Webster was one of four institutions in Missouri awarded a two-year grant by the National Science Foundation to expand high-performance computing education. All four institutions will collaborate with the Computational Infusion for Missouri Undergraduate Science and Education (CIMUSE) to share a computer cluster where experiments, research and cybersecurity simulations can be run and shared with other smaller institutions.

The latest award is pursuant to the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1861-75) and is subject to the NSF Grant General Conditions dated 05/29/2026, available at https://www.nsf.gov/awards/managing/general_conditions.jsp. Named "CyberTraining: Pilot: Peer-Mentored HPC Bootcamps to Empower Cyberinfrastructure (CI) Users at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions," the award is number 2611897.

Webster University published this content on July 01, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on July 01, 2026 at 20:54 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]