CQUniversity Australia in Brisbane has implemented a new high performance computing (HPC) system to help it store and process big data for healthcare and environmental projects. The SGI Rackable infrastructure includes 500 processor cores, 4 terabytes of memory and 300 terabytes of disk storage. According to CQUniversity Australia’s senior research technologies officer, Jason Bell, demand for HPC is expected to increase due to projects run by the Centre for Intelligent and Networked Systems and the Centre for Railway Engineering. One of the projects which will utilise HPC is called HEFRAIL. This looks at the effects of grass cover and erosion on the embankments beside railway tracks in central Queensland. “As a consequence of erosion there is an increase in maintenance costs, risks of outages and derailments, interruptions of normal train operations and environmental degradation,” Bell said in a statement. “By analysing and modelling rainfall-runoff-erosion data gathered from the experimental site, it has been established that 60 per cent grass cover on railway embankment slopes reduces erosion by over 90 per cent.” According to the university, research has enabled development of conservation strategies, including drip irrigation modelling and design, to combat the effects of erosion. Online storage supports ASKAP, MWA projects Macquarie Telecom to host Intersect supercomputer Sydney Uni seeks HPC energy cost reduction with new algorithims The acquisition of the system was funded by the Queensland Cyber Infrastructure Foundation and the CQUniversity Research Office and Information Technology Directorate. SGI has also worked with the Australian National University and provided a 10 petabyte data storage system. Follow Hamish Barwick on Twitter: @HamishBarwick Follow CIO Australia on Twitter and Like us on Facebook… Twitter: @CIO_Australia, Facebook: CIO Australia, or take part in the CIO conversation on LinkedIn: CIO Australia Related content feature Red Hat embraces hybrid cloud for internal IT The maker of OpenShift has leveraged its own open container offering to migrate business-critical apps to AWS as part of a strategy to move beyond facilitating hybrid cloud for others and capitalize on the model for itself. By Paula Rooney May 29, 2023 5 mins CIO 100 Technology Industry Hybrid Cloud feature 10 most popular IT certifications for 2023 Certifications are a great way to show employers you have the right IT skills and specializations for the job. These 10 certs are the ones IT pros are most likely to pursue, according to data from Dice. By Sarah K. White May 26, 2023 8 mins Certifications Careers interview Stepping up to the challenge of a global conglomerate CIO role Dr. Amrut Urkude became CIO of Reliance Polyester after his company was acquired by Reliance Industries. He discusses challenges IT leaders face while transitioning from a small company to a large multinational enterprise, and how to overcome them. By Yashvendra Singh May 26, 2023 7 mins Digital Transformation Careers brandpost With the new financial year looming, now is a good time to review your Microsoft 365 licenses By Veronica Lew May 25, 2023 5 mins Lenovo Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe