Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science

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RIACS, the Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science, was founded on June 1, 1983 as a collaboration between the Universities Space Research Association and NASA Ames Research Center. It conducts basic and applied computer science research for the aerospace field, covering topics such as supercomputing, computational fluid dynamics, computational chemistry, high‑performance networking, and artificial intelligence. Its main goal is to help scientists and engineers move from problem definition to results by combining concurrent processing with intelligent systems, so users can work in the language of their own disciplines. Over time, RIACS expanded to support space exploration activities, mission operations, and innovative information systems for technology research and development.

A core belief is that great research happens at the intersection of disciplines, and NASA missions drive the development of new information systems and advances in computer science. RIACS carries out collaborative projects with NASA, blending computer science with other fields to support NASA’s mission. For nearly 25 years, RIACS has served as a bridge between academia and government, inviting researchers from around the world to work with NASA and helping mature information technologies for NASA operations. It has worked closely with NASA Ames’ Intelligent Systems Division and the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Division (NAS). In its early years, RIACS helped build expertise in supercomputing and CFD and has since contributed to software innovations in autonomous systems, intelligent information management and data understanding, and human-centered computing.