ENGINEERING

A cluster-based supercomputer to boost academic research in the field of computational biology, statistical mechanics and numerical calculations was inaugurated by Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chairman Srikumar Banerjee at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSC) on Friday.

Among broad-based scientific institutions in India, the Annapurna cluster is the third fastest, ranking below the IISc, Bangalore, and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. The Rs 6-crore high performance computational cluster, supplied by Silicon Graphics International has 1.5 Tera Byte (TB) memory and 30 TB storage space cluster.

The project was backed by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) as it was not slotted in the Eleventh  Plan. It was only during the mid-term appraisal of the grid project, the project was proposed and the DAE backed the project, said IMSC director R Balasubramaniam.

Speaking on the occasion, Banerjee said the super computer will be used in a non-commercial domain and was developed by the users.

Because there a technological embargo on India, the nation was not able to get fast computational systems.

“There were limitations on processors. So different institutes were asked to start work on this area,” he said.

The supercomputer is the fourth in the range with the institute already boasting the likes of Kabru, Vindhya and Aravalli. Kabru is part of the Garuda grid that links 45 institutions across 17 cities for nationwide computational nodes and mass storage, said IMSC prof Gautam Menon.

Earlier, scientists demonstrated the uses of the super computer by highlighting the various research which could be done by using the system.

These included studying the disturbances in natural rhythm of heart besides research on formulation of new drugs by experimenting with the biological simulation of G-proteins coupled receptors and how drug molecules react with them.