NCSA reflects on 35 years as a supercomputing powerhouse Feb 9, 2022 11:15 am by Dina MeekExcellence Share on Facebook Tweet Email Images In 1983, U of I astrophysicist Larry Smarr and seven colleagues submitted an unsolicited proposal to the National Science Foundation, asking for funding for a supercomputer center at Illinois. NSF funded five of them the following year. Share on Facebook Tweet Email