Southampton supercomputer

Researchers at Southampton University are taking delivery of a £1.8m IBM System iDataPlex supercomputer. It will be the first such computer in a UK university and one of the 100 most powerful supercomputers in the world.
 
The supercomputer, which contains 2,000 processors each with four cores, and 100TByte of storage, will run Linux and Windows programs that will allow university researchers to make complex computations in fields ranging from cancer research to climate change.

The computer, which was custom-designed, will be configured for the university by UK computer and storage integrator OCF.

One of the key engineering groups using the computer will be the University Technology Centre for Computational Engineering, where director Prof Andy Keane and colleagues will be using its power to improve the design of aero engines and aircraft.

Other major users will be researchers in the university’s Complex Systems Simulation Doctoral Training Centre, which carries out simulations in research areas such as climate, pharmaceuticals, bioscience, nanoscience, medical and chemical systems, transport, the environment, engineering and computing.