Ursa Major (Strategic Realignment)

Ursa Major: The Future of Cloud at UCR

Ursa Major is a strategic partnership between the University of California, Riverside (UCR) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). This initiative has undergone a strategic realignment to ensure that UCR’s cloud footprint is optimized for high-impact research, data security, and long-term financial sustainability.

The goal of Ursa Major is to provide researchers with a “Fine Dining” experience—offering curated, high-performance resources where they are needed most, while ensuring that standard computational tasks are aligned with the most cost-effective campus infrastructure.

Ursa Major Specialized Resources

Through Ursa Major, UCR researchers can leverage cloud-native capabilities that complement our on-premise infrastructure:

Vertex AI & Machine Learning: Utilize Google’s flagship AI platform for model training, Generative AI (LLMs), and vector-based research applications.
Secure Research Enclaves: Access specialized virtual workstations designed for P4/Restricted data compliance (e.g., HIPAA, NIST 800-171) in a high-security cloud environment.
Strategic Archive Tier: Utilize cost-effective, long-term cloud storage for grant compliance and large-scale data retention.

Ursa Major Resource Allocation Framework

UCR utilizes a strictly tiered framework to ensure equitable and strategic access to cloud resources. This framework is designed to support the unique funding cycles of academic research while maintaining institutional governance and complying with enterprise contract limits.

Allocation Tiers

Tier 1: Strategic Allocation (Subsidized Pool): Provides no-cost access to baseline compute and strategic AI services (Gemini API) for eligible projects.
Tier 2: Commercial Recharge (Direct Billing): Designed for high-scale or specialized workloads that exceed Tier 1 limits. All Cloud GPU (A100, L4, T4), high-performance compute, and massive storage workloads must operate in this tier via direct recharge to a grant COA. Alternatively, researchers are strongly encouraged to utilize the UCR HPCC for subsidized GPU and HPC access.

Requesting an Allocation

Submit your Ursa Major interest or allocation request here:

Ursa Major Intake & Interest Form

All requests are reviewed in alignment with campus resource availability and strategic research priorities. Once a request is reviewed, the Research Computing team will work with you to architect a sustainable plan for your lab.

Monitoring & Optimization

To ensure efficient use of campus resources, the Research Computing team provides continuous monitoring and optimization for all Ursa Major projects. Researchers can access usage insights through the following standard dashboards: