University Displays New Supercomputer

A number of companies, including IBM, have been working together on a new supercomputer that was rolled out by BristolUniversity in England. Capable of 37 trillion calculations each second, Blue Crystal – as it’s known – will be used to help with research on aerospace engineering, climatechange and drug design.   With a $14 million price tag it’s unlikely to be affordable to run those games really fast in your living room, however.   "Serious research in manydisciplines can no longer be undertaken without high performance computing, and the University has recognized this through its investment in BlueCrystal," according to the director of Bristol’sadvanced computing research centre, Dr. Ian Stewart. "HPC-based research contributes significantly to University research income and will play an increasingly important role in teaching."