The UK's Fastest Supercomputer

bmsleight writes "The Guardian has a story on the HECToR, The largest supercomputer in the UK — around five times more powerful than its predecessor, HPCx, which is also at the University of Edinburgh. It measures up well internationally, sitting at 17 in the top500.org list of the most powerful computers in the world."

Comments

UK commitment to science

[BWJones]

I have really been impressed with the level of commitment to science, research and education outside of the US right now and efforts like HECToR only consolidate that impression. While we here in the US have essentially dropped the ball on education and science funding for the past oh, six or seven years, the rest of the world is really stepping up. Of course I have mixed feelings about this as I am a US citizen who works in science and education, but it is also good to see other countries stepping up. For instance, a few months ago, I visited the University of Leicester and was truly impressed with the focus and quality of the research going on in the UK. Their commitment to bioscience funding is something that the US government should be very careful about as we stand to lose some valuable talent overseas if we are not careful...

Re:17th isn't good enough

[AvitarX]

Wouldn't it make sense to compare total computing power to GDP, or at the least total scientific computing power?

I would doubt for example you would have the same complaint if the UK had the 17-100 spots on the list.

It could very well be that the UK is spending a lot more on research, but does not like to spend it on large super computersm or even spends it partnering with facilities in other countries.