Researchers at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California, San Diego, will be showing off a Linux cluster they have made using 16 Raspberry Pi computers at the upcoming conference for high-performance computing SC13 held in Denver Colorado.

  

The system called Meteor is designed to “educate  kids and adults about parallel computing by providing an easy-to understand, tangible model of how computers can work together," said Rick Wagner, SDSC's manager for high-performance computing. "One way we achieve this is by using Meteor as a presentation tool for demonstrations, with all of its components laid out in front of the audience. More importantly, we present Meteor in a fun, informal learning environment where students can try their hands at gaming competition while learning about the benefits of parallel programming”.

 

He went on to say “Currently, the majority of computer science degree curricula contain relatively few courses in parallel programming and distributed architecture at the undergraduate level and below, but the basic concepts aren't difficult, Meteor and its Raspberry Pis provide us with a platform to develop methods that prepare middle and high-school students to use and program current hardware."