“Leap in computing power” as Government switches on “most powerful supercomputer”
The Australian Government has announced that it has switched on its newest, largest and fastest supercomputer, constructed with a $50 million Super Science Initiative grant.
"Valuable insights into issues of pressing national importance”
The machine represents a leap in computing power, the Government said. It is intended to be applied to “gain new and valuable insights into issues of pressing national importance”.
In a statement, the Government said that it can perform the same number of calculations in one hour that 7 billion people armed with calculators could perform in 20 years, representing the capacity of 30,000 ordinary laptop computers working together as a single system.
“This leap in computing power will give our researchers insights and solutions to problems at a rate far quicker than previously possible,” Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr said.
“It keeps Australia at the forefront of global innovation and opens up new horizons for science and research.
“This supercomputer demonstrates the Government’s ongoing commitment to providing collaborative world class infrastructure to improve research outcomes.”
Local MP Andrew Leigh said: “The amount of information available to researchers is rapidly increasing, and it takes a big computer to crunch big data. This supercomputer will allow researchers to solve problems that puzzle us today, and permit future teams of researchers to answer questions we haven’t even thought of yet.”