High-performance computing for Manitoba researchers

Winnipeg, MB – A new high-performance computing facility is coming to the University of Manitoba.

High-performance computing (HPC) is an integrated computing environment used in science, engineering and business. The HPC supercomputer solves complex problems in a matter of hours and days, instead of weeks or months. It offers researchers a way to improve computer simulations of weather patterns, to model the behaviour of lifesaving drugs, and to do complex astronomical calculations.

“The University of Manitoba is thrilled to be home to the new high-performance computing facility,” said Dr David Barnard, the university’s president and vice-chancellor. “We take our role as a research, education and innovation leader in the community very seriously. This new facility is further proof of that commitment.”

Emerging areas of HPC applications include medical sciences, transportation, and advanced human-computer interface, such as virtual reality.

The federal government is providing funding of $2.1 million, which will be used to construct a special facility at the University of Manitoba to house the HPC technology, which will become part of the Western Canada Research Computing Grid, a regional HPC consortium, and will contribute to Canada’s national HPC infrastructure.