In addition to college course work, another major type of supercomputer use is for academic research. These are research projects, typically performed by students pursuing masters or doctoral level degrees. These degrees train researchers to develop new products and technological advances. As part of their education, students will be assigned to perform a major research project. Some of the fields that utilize ASC's high performance computing facilities most heavily are as follows.
- Aerospace Engineering
- Agricultural Business
- Agricultural Science
- Agronomy
- Alabama Water Institute
- Animal Science
- Atmospheric Science
- Biochemistry
- Biology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Biomedical Information Management Systems
- Biomedical Sciences
- Biostatistics
- Cardiology
- Chemical Engineering
- Chemistry
- Civil Engineering
- Communications
- Computer Engineering
- Computer Science
- Conservation and Natural Resources
- Continuing Studies
- Drug Discovery and Development
- Economics
- Educational Research
- Electrical Engineering
- Entomology
- Fisheries
- Forestry
- Genetics
- Geography
- Geology
- Horticulture
- Industrial Engineering
- Insurance
- Information Technology
- Life Sciences
- Management
- Marine Biology
- Materials Engineering
- Materials for Information Technology
- Materials Science
- Mathematics
- Mechanical Engineering
- Medicine
- Metallurgy
- Meteorology
- Microbiology
- Microgravity Research
- Music
- Neurology
- Pathobiology
- Pathology
- Pediatrics
- Pharmacy
- Physiology
- Physics
- Plant Pathology
- Political Science
- Poultry Science
- Propulsion Research
- Psychology
- Radiology
- Space Plasma Research
- Space Science
- Statistics
- Systems Management
- Textile Engineering
- Vision Sciences
- Wildlife Sciences
There are also some fields that utilize high performance computing to a lesser extent. These include business, economics, music, political science, and psychology. The HPC systems have been used by students participating in undergraduate internships in a number of fields. There is also some supercomputer usage by commercial clients that have paid for computing time.