MEDIA RELEASE

Senator the Hon. Ian Macdonald
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment

12 November 1997

Science Supercomputer Launched

A powerful computing collaboration for Australian science

Senator Ian Macdonald, Parliamentary Secretary responsible for the Bureau of Meteorology, today launched Australia's fastest computer, at the opening of the High Performance Computing and Communications Centre (HPCCC) in Melbourne.

'The establishment of a joint supercomputer centre by the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO will provide a powerful new tool for Australian science,' Senator Macdonald said.

The Minister for Industry, Science and Tourism, John Moore MP, said that the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO have each been successfully providing high performance scientific computing services for their research and operational needs for over 30 years.

'This new facility will provide and CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology with a high performance computing and communications resource for scientific and industrial research,' Mr Moore said.

'This collective effort will give the partners greater computing capability than they could achieve on their own.'

In opening the HPCCC, Senator Macdonald said that the centrepiece of the facility is a NEC SX-4 Supercomputer.

'The Supercomputer is the fastest in Australia and among the 50 most powerful research computers in the world,' Senator Macdonald said.

'The community will benefit from more timely and accurate weather predictions, improved climate forecasting and climate change studies and a host of CSIRO applications across many areas of research in biotechnology, manufacturing, mineral exploration and the environment.'

Mr Charles Allen AO, Chairman of CSIRO, noted that scientists in almost every discipline need world-class computing and communications infrastructure to conduct leading-edge research.

'CSIRO scientists are leaders in the use of supercomputing facilities and the new Supercomputer will allow them to tackle greater scientific challenges. Our scientists will be able to access this facility via AARNet, the Australian Academic and Research Network,' Mr Allen said.

CSIRO applications include experiments with its global climate model, and studies into the design of better pharmaceuticals and polymers and the analysis of combustion and plasma processes.

The Director of Meteorology, Dr John Zillman AO, also welcomed the partnership, whose many benefits included the flexibility that would allow the Bureau unprecedented computing power for the duration of significant weather threats such as tropical cyclones.

'The centre will also provide the foundation for further improvements in day-to-day forecasting,' Dr Zillman said.

'The Supercomputer will also contribute to the Bureau's global modelling research in support of climate change and ozone depletion studies, improved El Nino predictions, and air pollution studies.'

The High Performance Computing and Communications Centre (HPCCC) will be launched at 11am today (12 November 1997) at the Bureau of Meteorology, 5th Floor, 150 Lonsdale St., Melbourne.

Video footage and fact sheets are available from Senator Macdonald's Office or from the Bureau of Meteorology. For further information, please contact:
. Clare Richards (Office of Senator Macdonald) on 02 62773665 or 0419 698 275
. Cheryl Cartwright (Office of Minister Moore) on 026 277 7580 or 0419 418 174
. Dr John O'Callaghan (CSIRO): 0419 413 148.
. Rosie Schmedding (CSIRO) on 0418 622 653