SHIPPED
Cybershuttle
A cloud-based digital platform that makes it 2x faster for biophysicists to conduct research work.
cybershuttle.com/manage-projects
OVERVIEW
Cybershuttle is a powerful cloud platform that connects biophysicists' local devices to remote supercomputers, unifying their entire research process—from experiment setup to simulation, visualization, and result analysis under one hood.
Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Cybershuttle is a collaborative project between Indiana University, biophysicists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and several other universities.
Timeline
3 months (May 2023 - Aug 2023)
Team members
2 UX Designers; 3 Developers; and a Project Manager
My contribution
I led UX research (Primary and secondary research), ideation and UI design efforts (Low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes) to create an intuitive experience, addressing workflow challenges faced by biophysicists.
THE PROBLEM
“It’s like assembling furniture with instructions from five different manuals” - that’s how one biophysicist described their research workflow.
For decades, biophysicists have explored life at the molecular level — decoding how cells breathe, move, and evolve. But their day-to-day reality wasn’t nearly as elegant.
Their research workflow involved a patchwork of disconnected applications, legacy software, local simulations, cloud interfaces, and shared lab devices. Preparing molecules, setting up simulations, visualizing data, and running analysis. Every step required them to switch platforms, lose time, and risk errors.
MOLECULE PREP
BIOPHYSICISTS’ COMPUTER
BIOPHYSICISTS’ COMPUTER
SUPERCOMPUTER
EXPERIMENT SETUP
RUN SIMULATION
VISUALIZATION
ANALYSIS
THE JOURNEY
Exploring the research workflow
As designers, we weren’t handed a map - we had to make our own. With limited time and resources, we immersed ourselves in the biophysicists’ research ecosystem.
We studied requirement documents, reverse-engineered user flows from legacy software, and mapped out their fragmented journey.
KEY LEARNINGS
The biophysicists’ fragmented journey revealed that they struggle with switching between tools, lack a clear view of their workflow, and lose time during file transfers. The process feels disconnected, making it harder to stay on track or fix issues quickly.
THE JOURNEY
Listening before Designing
After decoding the fragmented workflow, we knew the only way forward was to listen. So, we stepped into the shoes of biophysicists, not as designers, but as curious observers.
We outlined key questions and guided open-ended conversations that walked through their entire research process - from selecting input parameters to analyzing final results.
KEY LEARNINGS
Biophysicists face major hurdles in tracking simulation status, managing multiple projects efficiently, and working across fragmented tools — leading to lost time, missed issues, and broken research flows.
EARLY WIREFRAMES
From Insights to Sketches
With a clear understanding of the gaps, we shifted from listening to shaping — turning every frustration we heard into building blocks for a simpler, smarter experience.
We translated insights into low-fidelity sketches, focusing on untangling workflows and connecting scattered tasks into a seamless journey — bringing visibility, flow, and control to the research process.
FINAL SOLUTION
Crafting the new Research Experience
From fragmented steps to a connected journey, the interface was designed to let biophysicists move through their research work with greater ease and clarity.
Our high-fidelity designs focused on reducing friction across the research process — helping users stay immersed in discovery instead of getting lost in technical hurdles.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The Manage Projects screen makes it easier for biophysicists to handle multiple research projects, check the progress for each one of them, and manage the team members handling the respective projects. Here, they can also add new projects or manage previous ones.
cybershuttle.com/manage-projects
TRACKING SIMULATIONS/EXPERIMENTS
The Job Monitor screen gives a comprehensive view of all the simulations (or experiments) running in different projects (or protocols). Their status, storage and computation level is also available for effective resource management by the biophysicists supervising their respective projects.
cybershuttle.com/manage-projects
CONNECTING TO THE SUPERCOMPUTER (1/3)
Selecting an HPC (High Processing Compute) Provider serves as the first step in connecting to a remote supercomputing device. Biophysicists can connect to their choice of HPC Provider to seamlessly and remotely connect to a supercomputer appropriate for their computing needs.
cybershuttle.com/simulate-and-analyze
CONNECTING TO THE SUPERCOMPUTER (2/3)
After the choice of HPC Provider is selected, the biophysicist is prompted to enter their credentials to securely connect to the supercomputing service. This ensures that the supercomputer is utilized by an authorized personnel.
cybershuttle.com/simulate-and-analyze
Connect to an HPC Account
Cybershuttle
Overview
Manage Projects
Simulate & Analyze
Profile
Back
Save draft
Next: Project ID
Enter credentials
Create your HPC account login.
Select an HPC Provider
Enter credentials
Input project ID
RSA key
Enter RSA key
Example: xxxxxxxxxxxx
Password
Enter your password
First Name
Enter your first name
Last Name
Enter your last name
CONNECTING TO THE SUPERCOMPUTER (3/3)
The last step in connecting to the supercomputer is selecting the project of interest for which the experiments have to be run on the supercomputer. The interface shows the projects that the biophysicist is a part of, making their selection easy.
cybershuttle.com/simulate-and-analyze
Connect to an HPC Account
Back
Save draft
Finish
Input project ID
Please select all projects are you in that requires HPC resources.
Select an HPC Provider
Enter credentials
Input project ID
Select project you’re part of
Search project by owner or name
Hint text
Project B
Project C
Project D
Cybershuttle
Overview
Manage Projects
Simulate & Analyze
Profile
SELECTING THE SUPERCOMPUTER
The user (here, biophysicist) can select the type of supercomputer they want to utilize for their experiments. Data such as “Available storage”, “Available compute units”, and “Time remaining” help them decide the best choice for the kind of experiments that biophysicists want to execute.
cybershuttle.com/simulate-and-analyze
Select HPC Resource
Cybershuttle
Overview
Manage Projects
Simulate & Analyze
Profile
With the help of a few steps, get started on configuring and creating simulations.
HPC Resource
Select the appropriate HPC Resource for your simulation.
Customize your HPC Resource
Tailor your selected HPC Resource by tuning a few settings.
HPC Resource
TitanCluster_15
AtlasNode_12
PoseidonGrid_10
QuantumCore_05
ApolloNode_07
Running Jobs
ProteinSim_01
DockingSim_02
RNAInteraction_04
CapsidAssembly_03
EnzymePathway_02
TIme Remaining
2h 13m
40m
5h 10m
10m
25m
Available Storage
3TB / 6TB
3TB / 6TB
2TB / 6TB
4TB / 6TB
5TB / 6TB
Available Compute Units
1200/5000
1200/5000
900/5000
1500/5000
2100/5000
Memory Allocation
Configure the memory allocation of the supercomputer
Select an option
Simulation Runtime
Select the runtime of your simulation.
1 hour
Save draft
Run Simulation
MONITORING SUPERCOMPUTER USAGE
In addition to helping biophysicists select the best supercomputer for their computing needs, they can also monitor the supercomputer resources used by their team, and get an overview of the resource allocation and optimize the computing consumption wherever necessary.
cybershuttle.com/simulate-and-analyze
HPC Accounts
Account Allocation
Manage
Register new allocation
Username
KD
Kate Dawner
SN
Sarah Novak
JP
John Perry
EC
Emily Chen
DM
David Miller
RG
Rachel Green
Project Name
ProteinSim_A
DockingProj_B
RNAFoldSim_B
MembraneProj_A
EnzymeSim_C
CapsidSim_A
Running Jobs
ProteinSim_01
DockingSim_02
RNAInteraction_04
Membrane_Job-03
EnzymePathway_02
Capsid_Job_05
Storage Used
3TB / 6TB
3TB / 6TB
2TB / 6TB
4TB / 6TB
5TB / 6TB
6TB / 6TB
Compute Units
1200/5000
1200/5000
900/5000
1500/5000
2100/5000
5000/5000
Action
Total HPC Resources Usage
Project A
Project B
Project C
Project C
Availability
45
Accounts
3000
TB Storage
8000
Compute Units
Cybershuttle
Overview
Manage Projects
Simulate & Analyze
Profile
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