ISU professor named to editorial board of new research journal

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – An Idaho State University Professor has been named to the editorial board of one of the newest research journals in the field of high performance computing.

Recently, Vitit Kantabutra, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, was named a review editor for Frontiers in High Performance Computing. The new journal explores “all aspects of high performance computing and its application as an enabler of initiatives like AI and the study of climate change.” Kantabutra will specialize in high performance big data systems. Big data refers to large or fast-changing data sets that can be analyzed to reveal patterns or trends.

“Big data greatly influences modern life,” Kantabutra said. “For example, public health officials need many different data types to manage the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, big data isn’t just text; big data can be pictures and videos that need a large amount of storage.”

Kantabutra is the inventor of a database model and database system called the Intentionally-Linked Entities Database (ILE). The system allows for more efficient storage and processing of big data, and he has published articles on how it could be used for databases related to healthcare, geographic information systems, and the electrical grid. The ILE is also showing promise in the new and growing field of the digital humanities. Digital humanities researchers are exploring how computational tools, like databases, can be utilized to study philosophy, literature, history, and more. The ILE excels in the digital humanities because it can easily story non-numerical data and is especially well-suited at showing relationships between multiple data points.

Frontiers in High Performance Computing is one of more than 160 journals spanning over 1,100 academic disciplines published by Frontiers. “Frontiers is the 3rd most-cited and 6th largest research publisher and open science platform,” according to the publisher, and their articles “have been viewed more than 1.9 billion times.”

“I look forward to working directly with the authors of papers that have been accepted for publication and helping shape Frontiers in High Performance Computing,” Kantabutra said. “Being on the editorial board of Frontiers-published journal will give me a chance to feel the pulse of this constantly changing field.”

For more information on ISU’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, visit isu.edu/ece.