University invests £3million on 'supercomputer'

The new supercomputer, built using IBM iDataPlex server technology, is capable of over 74trillion calculations per second. It contains over 8000 processors and will be used by the university's researchers to make highly complex computations in a range of fields from cancer research to climate change. It will be the first IBM System iDataPlex in a UK university and, according to the June 2009 top 500 list at www.top500.rg, is one of the 100 most powerful supercomputers in the world. Southampton University's deputy vice chancellor, Prof Philip Nelson, said: "The University of Southampton is one of the UK's leading research universities and one of the top 100 in the world. To ensure that we remain at the cutting edge of research, we must invest in the best facilities for our research staff. This significant investment will ensure that our researchers have computing facilities to rival the best in the world." The computer was custom designed and will be built for the University by UK computer and storage integrator OCF. It has a capability equivalent to around 4000 standard office computers, running simultaneously. Geneticist, Prof Andrew Collins, said that it will greatly assist the university's medical researchers. He added: "We need extremely high levels of computing power in our work mapping the disease genes implicated in breast cancer and glaucoma. With the volume of genome data increasing hugely each year, its analysis requires the most highly-sophisticated facilities." Another key engineering groups using the computer will be the University Technology Centre for Computational Engineering, where a research team will be using its power to improve the design of aero engines and aircraft.