Minister for Science and Research, Senator Chris Evans, recently congratulated ANU and its project partners on the high ranking of the $100 million Primergy supercomputing project at an international computing conference in Salt Lake City.
"The processing power of this supercomputer is comparable to 30,000 desktop computers working in parallel — a mind boggling capability," Evans said.
"This computer is an investment in Australia's future. It will help us attract and retain the most highly-skilled technical specialists.
"The Primergy supercomputer will support Australian research in a wide range of fields including climate change, earth system science and national water management research.
"In priority areas like climate change, researchers around the country will be able to use the computer to construct the most accurate and detailed models of the Earth's climatic systems that are possible today."
Evans said the world-leading supercomputer will provide crucial support for researchers.
"Australia's research activity is constantly expanding to help answer bigger and more complex questions every day," Evans said.
"Infrastructure like this will help keep Australian researchers at the forefront of global science."
The supercomputer, built by Fujitsu at the National Computational Infrastructure is a partnership between the ANU, CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology, Geoscience Australia and leading Australian universities.
The project is receiving $50 million from the federal government as a key component of the $901 million investment in research infrastructure through the Super Science Initiative.
The supercomputer will be open for business next year.
