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Launch of new supercomputer for UK researchers

15 January 2008

£113m HECToR officially opened by the Chancellor, Alistair Darling

Four times faster than its predecessor and capable of 63 million million calculations a second - the UK Research Councils have launched the largest and most advanced supercomputing facility in the UK.

HECToR (High-End Computing Terascale Resources) will facilitate innovative and world leading research and represents the equivalent of approximately 12,000 desktop systems.

Based at the University of Edinburgh's Advanced Computing Facility (ACF), the £113m service will run for six years and be operated by EPCC (Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre). The computer is a Cray XT4 system and support for applications software is provided by NAG Ltd. The procurement project for HECToR was managed by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the UK Research Councils.

To get a sense of the capability of HECToR, imagine if it were possible for every person on earth to carry out 10,000 calculations, in a second, at the same time - HECToR is this powerful. As one of the largest and most advanced supercomputers in Europe, this UK Research Councils facility will play a key role in keeping scientists at the forefront of their fields of research.

Traditionally, scientific research has been based on the process of theory and experiment. Adding the power of supercomputing simulation to the route of exploration and discovery has moved science to another level. HECToR continues this process by taking high-performance computing up yet another gear.

HECToR will provide UK researchers with the means to undertake increasingly complex computer simulations across a range of scientific disciplines. This will include work in forecasting the impact of climate change, fluctuations in ocean currents, projecting the spread of epidemics, designing new materials and developing new medicinal drugs.

HECToR was officially launched in Edinburgh on 14 January 2008 by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling.

Further information

Natasha Richardson
EPSRC Press Office,
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1ET
Tel: 01793 444404

Notes

1. HECToR is funded by significant contributions from the Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills' Large Facilities Capital Fund (LFCF) and EPSRC. The LFCF was established to ensure UK researchers have access to leading-edge, large-scale experimental projects and facilities. The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) are also contributing financially to the project, emphasising the breadth of science that will be supported. The EPSRC, which is funded by the Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills (DIUS), has managed the procurement project for the HECToR service on behalf of Research Councils UK (RCUK). The research councils plan long-term to provide UK researchers with access to the best facilities through the biennial RCUK Large Facilities Roadmap.

Press release: 01/08