Brownells, the Iowa-based online firearm and firearm accessories supplier has joined in a cooperative effort with Folding@Home “to lend its excess computing power to help combat the COVID-19 virus sweeping across the globe,” the company said in a news release.
According to the Brownells release, Folding@Home is involved in an international effort “to understand the molecular structure of the virus in hopes of finding ways to defeat it.” So far, the Coronavirus has caused the cancellation of several major events including the Concealed Carry Expo and National Rifle Association convention. In the case of the Expo, which is sponsored by the United States Concealed Carry Association, the organization considers this a postponement and will re-schedule to a later date. USCCA says all ticket sales and vendor booths are still valid for the later event.
Folding@Home has called on individuals and companies with excess server space and computing abilities to help execute computer modeling simulations to help speed up an otherwise huge and lengthy task, the news release said.
“Our IT team learned about the Folding@Home project and their work using computer modeling to better understand the molecular and protein structure of the virus,” said Brownells IT Director Curt Graff. “We are committed to helping protect our country by virtue of our personal protection and sustainability products, but we see this as a way to support the international community in a time of significant need.”
Brownells anticipates it will donate at least 1,300 hours to the project and run approximately 200 simulations on behalf of COVID-19 research, the release noted.
