Gov. Bill Richardson said the first commercial partnerships with the New Mexico Computing Applications Center and its supercomputer, Encanto, will initially create roughly 100 high-tech jobs.

DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is teaming up with New Mexico’s Cerelink Digital Media Group to use the New Mexico Computing Applications Center’s resources to advance the studio’s digital media capability, while Insigniam Innovation Discovery Center will use the state’s supercomputer to develop solutions to improve health care quality and value.

“From helping to develop major advances in digital media production to helping solve some of the greatest health care issues facing our country, Encanto’s applications are boundless and we’ve had tremendous interest from companies who want to plug into it,” Richardson said. “Our supercomputer is a major tool in developing a high-tech, high-wage economy and these agreements prove that our investment in it is paying off.” Encanto, which is housed at Rio Rancho’s Intel facility, is capable of operating 172 trillion calculations a second, making it the 12th-fastest computer in the world and the fastest non-federal computer.

The creation of 100 jobs is in addition to the 1,500 temporary jobs Intel will create by spending $2.5 billion to upgrade its manufacturing plant in Rio Rancho over the next two years. However, it will not change the company’s plan to layoff between 100 and 200 employees at its Rio Rancho site. The company also has reduced work with contractors, thus causing more people to be unemployed. The number of affected contract employees that would be laid off has not been determined yet. Intel would not release its list of contractors.

DreamWorks Animation and Cerelink DMG are partnering together to develop the technology and infrastructure needed to make it possible for the studio to render its cg 3-D films in New Mexico. As part of the project, the New Mexico Computer Application Center, in collaboration with UNM, the New Mexico Department of Information Technology, National LambdaRail and Cerelink DMG have established and tested an ultra high speed link connecting New Mexico to Hollywood. The project is expected to create 30 new jobs in its early phases.

“DreamWorks Animation has a rich history in technical innovation for film production,” said Ed Leonard, CTO of DreamWorks Animation. “We’re excited about working with Cerelink to bring cost effective and scalable on-demand computing to meet our needs.”

“With the technical innovation and real-world computing demands of DreamWorks Animation, we’re bringing the future of cloud computing to New Mexico. This joint effort is expected to create new opportunities and demand for New Mexico-based talent and services within the digital media sector,” said Richard Draper, Managing Partner of Cerelink DMG.

The board of directors for Insigniam Innovation Discovery Center cites the supercomputer as a major factor in its decision to locate its development center in New Mexico. The center will use Encanto to pursue supercomputing techniques and simulation modeling to find ways to improve healthcare delivery. It plans to hire at least 65 employees to start its operations.

“We are excited about our partnership with the New Mexico Computing Applications Center,” said Lee Akay, CEO of Insigniam Innovation Discovery Center. “Working together, we can develop new healthcare solutions to provide quality care at a lower cost as well as creating innovative workforce development opportunities for New Mexico and the U.S.”