CHEYENNE n Recent federal approval for the next phase of development of a major climate-modeling supercomputer in Cheyenne has Wyoming officials smiling again.

After months of delay, and speculation that the project might be stuck in federal bureaucratic gridlock, the National Science Foundation acknowledged on Sept. 5 that it had approved the next stage of the work, which will focus on computer design.

"There have been milestones along the way, but this more recent one has everyone smiling a bit more, just because it is a critical step to the rest of the process," said Randy Bruns, chief executive officer for Cheyenne LEADS, the city's economic development arm.

Wyoming officials have since early 2007 been singing the praises of the supercomputer, which is expected to be one of the largest in the world once complete.

Local and state officials predict it will raise the profile of the University of Wyoming, whose scientists will have access to a portion of the computing capacity.

Some also expect the supercomputer to help establish Cheyenne as a hub for technology somewhat like the National Center for Atmospheric Research supercomputer did for Boulder, Colo., and could help diversify the economy in southeastern Wyoming.

The computer is expected to cost $60 million to build, and $530 million over its 20-year lifetime, according to the most recent estimates.

The state Legislature contributed $20 million to the project in 2007.

But the long silence from the National Science Foundation had troubled some and largely pushed the project out of public view until the Sept. 5 announcement.

"We knew it was going to be a long process, and it still will be," Bruns said. "I think all of us have been a little surprised that it was as long as it was."

The original project time line called for construction to begin in 2007, with an opening date in 2010 or 2011. The timetable has now been extended for at least a year.

Bill Gern, vice president for research and economic development at UW, said the NCAR announcement is important because it will allow the project to move from the realm of the conceptual to the concrete.

Once the design process is under way, he said, project coordinators will be able better determine what the computer system will look like, while developing more precise cost estimates.

"This is the step that goes to stuff that is really concrete, like how big the building is, and where the survey pins are going to be." Gern said. "That just adds more of a concreteness to it than has been there before."

Efforts to hire an architectural and engineering firm for the project are already under way, said Krista Laursen, project director for the supercomputing center project. The initial project design could be completed by next summer, she said.

The supercomputer is slated for construction on a 25-acre portion of land owned by Cheyenne LEADS just west of town.

Cheyenne Mayor Jack Spiker said the National Science Foundation announcement is a "huge confidence builder for the community and the entire state."

Spiker said he envisions the supercomputer as an economic driver that will attract businesses to Cheyenne, and as a destination for tourists intrigued by one of the largest computers in the world.

He noted that the visitor's center attached to a similar supercomputer in Boulder, Colo., reported 50,000 visitors last year.

"We're very pleased with the announcement and very excited to see the project one step closer to a reality for the region and especially for Cheyenne," Spiker said.

Laursen said the project has been helped along by the strong relationship between the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, which will oversee the computer, and its Wyoming partners, including UW, the Wyoming Business Council, Gov. Dave Freudenthal's office and Cheyenne LEADS.

"We are extremely fortunate at NCAR and UCAR to have such a strong partnership with people up here in Wyoming," Laursen said.

Contact Jared Miller at 307-632-1244 or {M7jared.miller@trib.com

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