Kansas — home of wheat fields, the fictional Dorothy and Toto, and one of the world’s fastest supercomputers.

Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, is on a quest to add that last item to the list of things that make up the state’s image.

He is tackling the hefty task this legislative session, trying to build support for the idea that the state should own one of the 10 fastest supercomputers in the world.

“I’m very serious about this,” Sloan said. “I want the state to have one of these machines.”

From his position as chairman of the House Committee on Higher Education, Sloan is touting the idea as an economic development boon for a state trying to establish a high-tech economy.

His plan would allow researchers at Kansas University, Kansas State University and Wichita State University to access the computer for work on weighty problems — ranging from new theories on aviation design to life sciences research on the human genome. With that research would come jobs and spinoff companies. And having a machine that is in the world rankings would catch the eye of researchers from around the globe, Sloan said.

“Just like rankings matter to KU basketball fans, these computer rankings matter to world researchers,” Sloan said. “I think, without a doubt, this would bring in more high-profile researchers to the state. Long term, this is a big opportunity for the state.”

Sloan estimates from $5 million to $10 million would get Kansas a high-powered computer that would rank in the Top 10. If the state wants a machine that is among the five fastest in the world, the price tag would be closer to $20 million.

Sloan is trying to convince lawmakers and members of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ administration that it would be money well spent.

Bret Stouder, director of Atipa Technologies, 4921 Legends Drive, displays a new supercomputer that is scheduled to be installed at the University of Tennessee. Stouder is hopeful that the state of Kansas will purchase an even larger machine for use by researchers at Kansas University, Kansas State University and Wichita State University.

“What I’m telling people is that too often as state leaders we think too small,” Sloan said. “For what it costs for about five miles of road, we could buy a world-class supercomputer. It is a relatively little amount of money to bring a great deal of creative talent to this state. But it will take imagination and it will take will. It will take us thinking large.”

A ‘hot-rod’ computer

Legislators won’t have to look any farther than west Lawrence to find one of the megamachines. If Sloan’s proposal gains favor, it could provide a boost in business to Lawrence-based Atipa Technologies, 4921 Legends Drive.

Atipa, which is owned by Lawrence manufacturer Microtech Computers, specializes in producing supercomputers. The 10-year-old company, with sales of about $20 million a year, has built high-performance computers for big-name customers like NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the U.S. Army’s Missile Defense Center, AT&T, Motorola and Princeton University.

Bret Stouder, Atipa’s director and co-founder, views his work like that of a high-performance engine builder.

“Almost anybody can build a computer, but very few people can get the most out of a computer,” Stouder said. “I think of these computers as engines, and we’re known as the place you go to get a hot engine.”

How hot?

Stouder said a top-of-the-line desktop computer, like a Dell with a Pentium chip, may be capable of doing about 6 billion calculations per second. It’s a big number, but small in comparison to a machine dubbed SuperMike that Atipa built in 2002 for Louisiana State University.

SuperMike, named after former Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster Jr., is capable of 7.3 trillion calculations per second. Atipa officials said it was ranked the seventh-fastest computer in the world by Top500.org, a Web site that monitors the high-performance computer industry.

“After we worked with Louisiana, we thought Kansas could benefit greatly from something like this,” Stouder said.

Louisiana lessons

The state of Louisiana paid $2.8 million for the machine in 2002, and LSU officials said SuperMike had been worth the money.

Jennifer Hughes, marketing coordinator for the university center that houses the supercomputer, said the school had attracted about 15 researchers during the 18 months the computer had been on campus.

“There are researchers who are here now who never before thought they should come to LSU,” Hughes said. “One thing researchers are definitely looking for is the hardware, and you either have it or you don’t.”

At LSU, researchers are using the machine to study coastal erosion, complex molecules used in the petrochemical industry, and even the beginning of time and Einstein’s most complex theories.

Hughes said the machine also was a great teaching tool because it brought science to life by creating animated models that can’t easily be done on a typical computer.

“The computer that produced the movie Shrek wasn’t as nice as ours,” Hughes said.

The machine also is good at producing research grants. Hughes said in the school’s last fiscal year it received $11 million in additional grants from the likes of the National Institute of Health and National Science Foundation because of the university’s computer capacity.

SuperMike has been super enough that LSU officials are planning on spending about $300,000 to upgrade the machine. Since it was built, SuperMike has fallen in the rankings to No. 30 in the world. Hughes said officials hoped the upgrade would put the computer back in the Top 15.

An employee at Atipa's parent company, Microtech Computers, prepares a motherboard for installation in a supercomputer.

She said state officials, so far, haven’t balked at the money spent on the machine.

“Our message to legislators was very clear: Academics and research lead to economic development,” Hughes said. “That’s all we needed to hear in Louisiana.”

Searching for money

Sloan hopes Kansas leaders understand that message. But he admits the state’s tight budget will make his plan more difficult. After all, the price of the computer is about double the entire $3.2 million budget of Sebelius’ proposed Economic Revitalization Plan.

Even some leaders who might benefit from the machine are withholding judgment.

Victor Frost, director of KU’s Information and Telecommunications Technology Center, said he had spoken briefly with Sloan about the idea. Frost said he wanted to learn more before endorsing it as an idea the state should pursue.

“It is a complicated issue and it is a fairly large investment to make,” Frost said. “I would want to understand the cost and the benefits of it better. You have to set your priorities, but clearly in an ideal world, something like that would be fantastic.”

Sloan said he doesn’t have a timeline for the plan. He said he would continue talking about it with fellow legislators, the Board of Regents and the administration.

“Some people I talk to don’t understand why we need it or how you use it, some say it is a great idea but at the wrong time, but with others it really captures their imagination,” Sloan said. “I know it will be hard to find the money, but we have to invest today if we want to have a bright economic future for the state.”