The University of Utah Scientific Computing and Imaging (SCI) Institute is a global leader in applied computing research with real‑world impact. Founded in 1994, SCI was built on the idea that complex problems require deep collaboration across fields. From the start, computer scientists, engineers, and mathematicians have worked side by side to develop computational and data-enabled methods—along with software systems and tools—that drive discovery in biomedicine, energy, geosciences, defense, manufacturing, and beyond.

Today, led by Executive Director Manish Parashar—also the University of Utah’s chief artificial intelligence officer and a pioneer in parallel and distributed computing—SCI sits at the center of the university’s computing research ecosystem. The institute leads the One‑U Responsible Artificial Intelligence Initiative, launched in 2023 to expand applied AI expertise, build advanced cyberinfrastructure, and ensure AI serves the public good. SCI also oversees the Center for High Performance Computing, which provides researchers across campus and the region with powerful computing, data, and networking resources.

With the addition of the One‑U Responsible AI Initiative and the Center for High Performance Computing, the institute is a collaborative hub where big ideas in AI and computation become reality—backed by institutional investment and world-class infrastructure. Experts from computing, engineering, medicine, education, urban planning, environmental science, and more come together at SCI to leverage data and technology for societal impact and prepare the next generation of innovators to do the same.

After 24 years of stewardship under founding director Chris Johnson, Manish Parashar took the helm of SCI in 2021. The institute is now home to more than 200 faculty, students, and staff. SCI faculty are united by a commitment to collaborative, cross‑disciplinary research. Traditionally rooted in computing, mathematics, and engineering, the institute has long welcomed faculty with joint and adjunct appointments across campus. That culture continues today, with growing participation from faculty in other areas—especially the environment, health care and wellness, and teaching and learning, the three themes of SCI’s One‑U Responsible AI Initiative.

SCI has a rich history of using computation and data to address scientifically and societally important problems that span fields. A 1990 project between SCI founders Chris Johnson and Rob MacLeod set the stage for decades of interdisciplinary work to come: the pair pored over MRI scans and drew from computer science, biomedical engineering, physics, math, and more to build a then-unmatched computer model of the human heart’s electrical activity in the torso. The institute’s technical expertise and collaborative culture—designed to break down barriers and open lines of scientific inquiry—also make it a natural home for the One‑U Responsible AI Initiative, which advances AI systems and practices to solve real-world challenges that rarely fit within a single field. 

SCI tackles some of today’s most pressing challenges by combining advanced computation, data science, and domain expertise. Researchers develop open‑source tools and AI‑driven methods that power breakthroughs in medicine, climate resilience, national cyberinfrastructure, and scientific discovery—supporting everything from precision cancer care and cardiovascular modeling to more trustworthy data visualization and next‑generation supercomputing. With tens of millions of dollars in competitive federal funding and partnerships spanning national labs, industry, and international institutions, SCI’s work doesn’t just advance theory—it delivers real‑world impact at scale. Its cutting‑edge research is built to be open, reproducible, and transformative.

Research and education are deeply intertwined at SCI. The institute has trained more than 400 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and provided research internships for nearly 100 undergraduates. Alumni go on to faculty positions worldwide and to leadership roles in national labs and companies such as Amazon, ExxonMobil, NVIDIA, Google, Intel, and Medtronic.

SCI builds community around research and innovation at the University of Utah and beyond.  Faculty play leading roles in premier journals, conferences, and professional organizations. A core part of the institute’s mission is translating research into widely used, open‑source software, including SCIRun, Seg3D, ImageVis3D, VisTrails, ViSUS, Cleaver, map3d, SciDX, DataSpaces, and RPulsar.

Through the One‑U Responsible AI Initiative, SCI has engaged faculty from nearly every college on campus and launched Utah’s Responsible AI Community Consortium—a volunteer‑led network connecting academia, industry, government, and the public. Together, these efforts reflect SCI’s long‑standing commitment to collaboration, openness, and computing research that benefits society.

• 1994: Chris Johnson and Rob MacLeod, along with their first graduate students, form the SCI research group.
• 1996: SCI becomes a State of Utah Center of Excellence.
  • Principal investigator: Johnson
• 1997: SCI is an integral part of the formation of the Center for the Simulation of Accidental Fires and Explosions, a $20 million collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative.
  • Principal investigator: David Pershing
• 1997: SCI is part of the National Science Foundation’s Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure for Visual Supercomputing and Computational Steering.
  • Principal investigator: Johnson
• 1998: SCI is named a DOE Advanced Visualization Technology Center—its first national research center award.
  • Principal investigators: Johnson and Charles Hansen
• 1999: SCI receives a DOE grant for contributions to the Data and Visualization Corridors program, which aims to advance the manipulation and visualization of large-scale scientific datasets and improve the way science is practiced.
  • Principal investigators: Johnson and Hansen
• 1999: SCI receives funding from the National Institutes of Health to launch the Center for Bioelectric Field Modeling, Simulation, and Visualization.
  • Principal investigators: Johnson, MacLeod, and Hansen
• 2000: After significant effort, including review by administrators and trustees, SCI becomes one of eight permanent research institutes at the University of Utah.