Boost for high performance computing
14 May 2012 by Evoluted New Media
High performance computing has received a £3.7m boost from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
The award represents the first significant activity for the e-Infrastructure South Consortium – formed by the Universities of Oxford, Bristol and Southampton and University College London (UCL) – and will be used to found and run a Centre of Innovation.
The Consortium aims to explore and exploit opportunities for the sharing of research e-infrastructure – hardware platforms, applications software user support services and skills – across the institutions. It will foster a collaborative environment where computationally enabled research projects can be developed and delivered.
“This is an initiative of vital importance as we work toward the development of world-class supercomputing research infrastructure for the UK,” said Professor David Price, UCL Vice-Provost (Research). “The value of collaborative, cross-disciplinary approach is at the heart of this important award.”
The award allows two significant High Performance Computing (HPC) systems to be acquired. The first – a 12,000 core Intel Westmere based general architecture/x86 based system – will be located at the University of Southampton.
The second is a large novel architecture/GPU system based on a 372 NVIDIA Tesla M2090 processor will be based at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s e-Science division at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory – a strategic partner for the Centre. This system will be the second largest in Europe once it enters operation.
HPC is seen as the third pillar of modern research practice both in academic and industrial research endeavours and is used in quantum physics, weather forecasting and climate research, and molecular modelling and drug discovery. Advances in the application of HPC methods which aid discovery and drive innovation will be critical in ensuring the continued international competitiveness of the UK.
“We are looking forward to using the new facilities to address specific research challenges in advanced materials including those used in emerging energy technologies, healthcare and catalysis for environmental protection,” said Professor Richard Catlow, Dean of the UCL Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences. “The new facility will help to keep researchers in these and related fields in the collaborating institutions at the international cutting edge.”
