The Morrison Government is funding Australia’s most powerful supercomputer that can crunch data ten times faster than any other computer in the country.
The $70 million supercomputer will power Australian researchers to tackle bigger and more complex problems.
Minister for Education Dan Tehan said the supercomputer, called Gadi, would be based at the Australian National University in Canberra and would come online in November.
“Australian scientists researching important topics will be able to use the supercomputer to analyse data and solve problems,” Mr Tehan said.
“Local researchers could use Gadi to find genetic patterns that improve the diagnosis and treatment of people with rare diseases and cancers, underpinning new medical innovations.
“It could conduct complex analysis of weather patterns leading to improved climate models that benefit our farmers and aid our transport industry and emergency services.
“Gadi is funded through the Morrison Government’s $2.2 billion Research Infrastructure Investment Plan and will help Australia break into the top 30 nations for its high-performance computing capacity.”
ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt thanked the Government for the funding and said the upgrade will power some of Australia’s most vital research.
“NCI plays a pivotal role in the national research landscape, and the supercomputer is the centrepiece of this important work,” Professor Schmidt said.
“Investing in Australia’s research is an investment in our future. The upgrade of this critical infrastructure will see Australia continue to play a leading role in addressing some of our greatest global challenges.
“Gadi will give researchers the tools to unlock the mysteries of the universe, predict and manage natural disasters, advance cancer research and design new materials for future technologies.
“As the nature and complexity of the problems that need supercomputers have become even greater and more pressing, computational and data science has grown to meet the challenge.
“This new machine will keep Australian research and the 5,000 researchers who use it at the cutting-edge. It will help us get smarter with our big data. It will add even more brawn to the considerable brains already tapping into NCI.”
