Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, today officially launched a new research supercomputer facility, located at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra.
The federal government is contributing $26 million to the project as part of the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy. Substantial co-investments have also been secured by several partner organisations, including ANU and CSIRO.
The supercomputer system will be in operation by January 2010, providing a ten-fold increase in performance over its predecessor. It will allow researchers to test ideas and construct complex models using computer simulations that would be otherwise impossible. This is likely to prove especially beneficial to researchers in the fields of climate change and water management.
“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,” said Senator Carr.
