Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC)

Which came first: the galaxy or the black hole? 🌌

New findings from the NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration's James Webb Space Telescope suggest some supermassive black holes may have formed enormous from the very beginning — challenging long-standing theories about the early universe.

Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin helped power the discovery using simulations on the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC)'s Stampede3 and Lonestar6 supercomputers.

The work highlights how advanced computing is helping scientists explore some of the biggest questions about the origins of the universe.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/49rPwDb

📷️ Image from NIRCam on NASA’s JWST shows Abell2744-QSO1, magnified and triply imaged by galaxy cluster Abell 2744 (Pandora’s Cluster). Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Lukas Furtak (Ben-Gurion University)

TACC recently welcomed the SC Conference SCinet team for a week of planning for SC26. SCinet is a global collaboration of high-performance networking experts from industry, academia, and government who provide a platform that connects attendees and exhibitors to the world.

SCinet is always welcome at TACC! 🤝

StarNet, a fast and accurate AI/ML surrogate model developed with National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded supercomputers from the San Diego Supercomputer Center and the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), is helping researchers explore how the universe’s first stars formed.

"High end computational resources like those through the NSF LCCF are essential to decoding the discoveries being made using the new generation of telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope." -- Mike Norman, Astrophysicist, University of California San Diego Halıcıoğlu School of Data Science and Computing

Learn more: https://bit.ly/43hYPlu

Last week, TACC hosted the inaugural Information-Integrated Decision Support Institute, a hands-on program led by the Decision Support Office’s interdisciplinary research team.

Participants worked through the full decision support pipeline—from problem framing and data integration to modeling, analysis, and real-world deployment.

Thank you to the Texas Water Development Board for their support through the SUBSIDE project, grounding this work in real-world challenges across Texas coastal and groundwater systems. We’re also grateful to contributors from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), The University of Texas at Arlington, and The University of Texas at Austin, who brought expertise in hydrology, climate science, remote sensing, and decision science.

Building smarter, data-integrated solutions to complex challenges takes a community.

Over the past 25 years, TACC has outfitted the open science and HPC communities with some iconic T-shirts.

Take a look at our evolving TACC T-shirt wall and see how many you recognize. We’d love to see yours! Share your selfie below 👇

April showers bring May TACC hires.

James Labyer (left) joins the Life Sciences Computing group as a Research Software Engineer. He will support advanced application‑driven computing on TACC systems and contribute technical expertise to project development and ex*****on.

Jixian Li (right) joins the Scalable Computational Intelligence group as a Research Associate. He will train, evaluate performance, and run inference on AI and ML models using TACC systems.

Welcome to TACC!
Jobs at TACC:https://tacc.utexas.edu/about/jobs/

Ready to apply machine learning to real-world life science research?

Join us at the TACC Summer Institute for Practical Machine Learning for Life Science Research, a hands-on, immersive training designed to take you from foundational concepts to cutting-edge deep learning applications.

• June 8–12, 2026
• 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
• In-person
• Registration deadline: May 25

Over five intensive days, you’ll:
• Build a strong foundation in machine learning and deep learning
• Work directly with data from the NIH Common Fund Data Ecosystem
• Learn best practices for data preparation and preprocessing
• Train, evaluate, and deploy your own models with confidence

Whether you're new to machine learning or looking to sharpen your skills, this workshop equips you with practical tools you can immediately apply to your research.

Spots are limited—secure yours by May 25: https://bit.ly/3R0Ud0m

For 25 years, TACC has been more than an academic supercomputing center—it’s been a launchpad for discovery, powered by people who know how to turn advanced technology into real-world impact.

Today, that legacy continues through TACC’s dynamic portfolio of training and workshops. From beginner-friendly introductions to deep dives, our programs are designed to meet you wherever you are—and take you further. Whether it’s multi-day, hands-on institutes, flexible online courses, or on-demand learning via YouTube, TACC is opening doors to the tools and methods shaping modern science.

Learn more about TACC’s training and workshops: https://tacc.utexas.edu/use-tacc/training/

A new study is uncovering how DNA organizes and replicates itself inside maize cells — revealing a hidden layer of genome architecture that could influence crop resilience and gene regulation.

Using high-throughput sequencing, 3D microscopy, and supercomputing resources from the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), researchers from Florida State University and North Carolina State University analyzed 1.3 billion sequencing reads across the maize genome.

The findings suggest that DNA replication timing may help control how genes are regulated in plants.

“This could mean that manipulating replication timing may one day offer new ways to enhance crop traits or resilience.” — Hank Bass, Florida State University

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4tmSMqv