Pioneering supercomputer at WiSAR will facilitate fundamental research for industry

Large bank of computer servers in a room.

Following a successful submission to a recent Enterprise Ireland, Capital Equipment Fund, LYIT & WiSAR Technology Gateway secured €250,000 for a pioneering supercomputer. The funding will be used to secure a new state-of-the-art high-performance computer (HPC) Data Ingestion and Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform.

Dr Michael McCann, of LYIT Department of Computing, explains that “Supercomputing allows for the concurrent processing of enormous volumes of data at exceptionally high speeds and is a key resource for scientists, engineers and technologists in the digital age, in solving a wide array of highly complex problems.”

“Data-driven business solutions present substantial opportunity for industry, driving next generation product innovation, reducing production costs, streamlining processes, increasing profits, and accelerating speed to market. However, there are many challenges inhibiting businesses, particularly SME’s, from fully capitalising on the data economy, including a lack of in-house competence and high infrastructure costs. These barriers have led to a growing demand for high performance computing services among our industry clients.”

“This data ingestion and AI HPC platform will facilitate fundamental research and a wide range of collaborative industry projects at LYIT, as data analysis and AI continues to underpin and inform decision-making across many sectors including healthcare, Fintech and industry 4.0.”

“This test bed will also be a critical resource under the impending Atlantic Technological University, being the first such supercomputing facility within the three partner institutions.”

Dr Gertie Taggart, Head of Faculty of Engineering and Technology at LYIT, welcomed the announcement. “We are delighted that the delivery of this state-of-the-art supercomputing system will enable our scientific community, student base, and industry partners to pursue cutting-edge research on a broad range of topics.”

“High performance computing is at the core of advancement in the digital age, having transformed many sectors. This high-spec facility will allow us to perform cutting-edge simulations and become a pioneer in data-intensive critical applications using AI, data analytics and machine learning. “

“The investment aligns not only with the strategic vision of the new Atlantic Technological University in becoming a leading research institution, but also with the policy objectives set out in the Governments new national AI strategy.”

“Ireland boasts a vibrant and globally recognised AI ecosystem. A recent report found that we had the highest share of businesses using AI applications among EU member states. The next generation of AI applications demand highly sophisticated computational ability and investment in supercomputing infrastructure like this, will be an important enabler in sustaining Ireland’s competitive advantage.”

“This investment in research-intensive, world-class equipment will not only bolster our capacity to deliver industry responsive research at LYIT but will also be an important resource in building an agile knowledge economy in the North West region.”

Dr Stephen Seawright, the WiSAR Technology Gateway manager in LYIT, outlined that “This state-of-the-art computing architecture will complement the existing capital investments made by Enterprise Ireland recently.”

“We will be working with our academic colleagues in the Faculty of Engineering and Technology to launch a flagship technical training programme for industry in utilising the new facility.”

“As more and more businesses seek to leverage the commercial value of data in the digital age, continued investment in transformative technologies is pivotal in ensuring indigenous businesses can compete on the global stage. We are looking forward to showcasing our HPC platform which will enrich our research offering at LYIT and position us at the forefront of technical innovation.”

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