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Can we better understand natural disasters?

Press release issued: 7 April 2011

One of the world’s leading experts in the use of high-performance computing (HPC) for modelling natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis will be speaking about his latest research at an international event covering some of the most important developments in the computing industry.

One of the world’s leading experts in the use of high-performance computing (HPC) for modelling natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis will be speaking about his latest research at an international event covering some of the most important developments in the computing industry.

The supercomputing conference, hosted by the University of Bristol [11 to 13 April], will see around 120 scientists from across the globe gather to discuss the latest in high-performance computing technology.

Professor Satoshi Matsuoka, Head of High-Performance Computing at Tokyo Institute of Technology, will deliver a keynote speech about how computational modelling research is being used to help predict and model natural disasters in the wake of the Japan earthquake.

Simon McIntosh-Smith, Senior Lecturer in High-Performance Computing at the University and conference Chair, said: “Cutting-edge scientific research is increasingly reliant on high-performance computing alongside traditional theoretical and experimental approaches. The computational tools at our disposal are improving at exponential rates, radically changing the science that’s possible. This conference brings together the leaders in the next generation of high-performance computing, where technologies developed for 3D games, mobile phones and reprogrammable processors are being used to design future supercomputers capable of performance that will make today’s computers look like yesterday’s desktop calculators.”

Dr Krisztian Flautner, Vice President of Research and Development at ARM, the company which designs some of the technology behind digital products including Apple’s iPhones, iPads and iPods, will be giving a keynote lecture about how the company’s technology is being adopted in new markets such as high-performance computing, and their work powering some of the most exciting gadgets on the planet.

Professor Guy Orpen, Pro Vice Chancellor for Research and Enterprise at the University, added: “High-performance computing is an area of growing importance and is fundamental to any large organisation undertaking research requiring either very large amounts of data to be processed or lengthy computations to be carried out.

“Climate modelling, drug design, gene sequencing, aeronautical design, medicine, astrophysics and epidemiology all rely on high-performance computing. To date, the University has invested around £10 million in its own HPC facilities to ensure it continues to be at the forefront of delivering groundbreaking research.”

The event, entitled ‘The Many-core and Reconfigurable Supercomputing Conference’ [MRSC] from 11 to 13 April, hosted by the University’s Department of Computer Science, will be opened by Professor Guy Orpen, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise at the University. More information about the event is available on the conference website.

 

Further information

The event is sponsored by a number of organisations, these include: AWE, NVIDIA, Super Micro Computer, Inc. designs, the University of Bristol's Advanced Computing Research Centre, the Large-Scale Complex Information Technology Systems (LSCITS), the University of Bristol's Department of Computer Science, Allinea Software, AMD, CASPUR and Panasas.
Please contact S.McIntosh-Smith@bristol.ac.uk for further information.
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