University to lead £15m tech scheme
A BID to create the world’s first 1,000mph car, cancer research and space studies are among projects to benefit from a new £15m supercomputing programme of investment for Wales.
The multi-million pound facility will enable Wales to compete globally for research using state of the art equipment, and help existing projects at universities.
Part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Welsh Government, “Supercomputing Wales” will be led by Cardiff University, with partners including Aberystwyth, Bangor and Swansea Universities.
A total of £9m will come from the ERDF via Welsh Government, supported by a multi-million pound investment by four university partners.
The five-year programme aims to attract research funding, create high skilled jobs, increase scientific partnerships and support collaborations with industrial and other partners.
The programme includes investment in two upgraded supercomputer hubs at Cardiff and Swansea.
At Cardiff University, the Gravitational Physics Group – which last year announced the first ever detection of gravitational waves as part of the Ligo (Laser Interferometer GravitadionalWave Observatory) consortium – will benefit from the upgraded facilities.
In the coming years, gravitational waves will allow researchers to peer into the cores of exploding stars, potentially challenging current understanding of the universe, the university said.
The Cardiff University-led Wales Gene Park will also use supercomputing facilities to advance studies into diagnosis and treatment of inherited diseases and cancer.
At Swansea University, the facilities will support the Bloodhound Project – the land speed record project attempting to create the world’s first 1,000mph car, with the facilities used to simulate the car’s behaviour at unprecedented high speeds.
Swansea University will also use the facilities to improve weather forecasting.
At Aberystwyth, the facilities will be used to support research projects including DNA sequencing for plant breeding among other research and at Bangor University, the facilities will support tidal energy and oceanographic projects
Cardiff University’s Professor Roger Whitaker, director of Supercomputing Wales, said: “This is a significant investment that represents a major step forward for Wales, contributing towards competitiveness in science, engineering and innovation.
“The new facility will support largescale research proposals that demonstrate the degree of ambition called for in the Welsh Government’s science policy, Science for Wales.
“This programme of investment will ensure that Welsh university research teams have access to facilities to undertake world-class research and to develop new collaborative projects with industrial and other partners.”