Swinburne to invest in new supercomputer assisted by $5.2 m Vic government grant

Swinburne University of Technology’s Hawthorn campus will get a new supercomputer, which will support research activities including in space, neuroscience and understanding the natural world.

The new supercomputer will replace the OzSTAR machine, which has been in use since 2017, supported a variety of research topics, and acted as a “de facto national facility for astrophysics computation” through a partnership with Astronomy Australia Limited. AAL is also collaborating on the new facility, along with Victoria University and Federation University Australia.

“Supercomputers are at the heart of modern science and engineering challenges,” said project leader Professor Matthew Bailes, head of Swinburne Data Science Institute and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav).

“This crucial investment will enable Swinburne and Victoria to compete both nationally and internationally until the end of the decade.”

The new supercomputer – which the university said would provide processing capacity millions of times greater than a regular computer – would be used in research including:

• Supporting the development of new space technologies and improving understanding of gravitational waves, black holes and galaxy formation.
• Understanding how the brain operates through analysis of brain data by neuroscientists and neuroimaging experts.
• Better understanding of our planet including research into bushfire detection, and natural disaster planning and response.

 The investment is supported by a $5.2 million grant through the Victorian government’s Higher Education State Investment Fund.

The new supercomputer would also have a Woi Wurrung name and façade design inspired by indigenous knowledge of the Southern night sky, and created through consultation with the Wurundjeri community, led by Swinburne’s Moondani Toombadool Centre.

Picture: Carl Knox, OzGrav/Swinburne

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