Supercomputer launched at ANU

The Commonwealth government is providing $26 million towards Australia’s newest research supercomputer to be hosted at the Australian National University (ANU).

The facility, officially launched by the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr, is operated by National Computational Infrastructure (NCI), an initiative of the Commonwealth government.

The government funding of $26 million (over four years) comes under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy. Substantial co-investment has also been secured by a number of partner organisations, including ANU and CSIRO.

“Australia's best researchers - in disciplines ranging from astronomy and physics, to climate research, social science and engineering - will benefit from access to a truly world-class supercomputer,” Senator Carr said.

“When it is fully up and running in January 2010, the system will provide a tenfold increase in performance over its predecessor, providing Australian researchers with an internationally significant system.

“The new supercomputer will allow researchers to test ideas using computer simulations that would not be possible to test in the lab and enable the construction of complex models that just cannot be developed without these facilities.

“The Rudd government recognises the need for a significant national investment to support leading computational science.

“The government is providing a further $130 million for high-performance computing, including an additional $50 million for NCI, under the Super Science initiative in the 2009/10 Federal Budget.

“These funds will accelerate and expand much-needed research into critical challenges facing Australia, including climate change and water management.”