RIYADH: Scientific exploration and innovation are set to get a boost with the operation of the Shaheen III supercomputer at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia.
Developed by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Shaheen III has already established itself as the most powerful supercomputer in the Middle East, according to a recent report from TOP500, known for publishing statistics on this sector.
Tony F. Chan, President of KAUST, said: “Shaheen III takes KAUST’s world-class research capabilities to the next level with its processing power and ability to create models in many fields in a short time. of time. »
The system is expected to play a central role in building and testing predictive mathematical models. It uses a multifaceted approach that includes traditional simulations based on differential equations, statistical emulation, and machine learning based on neural networks.
These mathematical models will be used in a variety of operations, including scientific discovery, engineering design and policy support.
He added: “Shaheen III will be crucial in supporting sustainable development campaigns linked to our National Center for Climate Change and for national projects that align with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, thereby helping to accelerate the growth of the Saudi Arabia in areas such as sustainable development.
Ranked 20th in the world for supercomputer efficiency, the system is six times faster than its predecessor, Shaheen II, and has more processing power than the 500,000 in the latest MacBook Pro.
“Supercomputing is part of KAUST’s research and curricular DNA, and many of our faculty are recruited around supercomputing. Computational approaches once lagged behind theoretical, observational and experimental approaches. Today, more often than not, they lead because of supercomputers like Shaheen III,” said David Keyes, founding dean of KAUST.
In its initial operational phase, Shaheen III will focus on strengthening research contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals, encompassing materials, catalysis, alternative fuel combustion, carbon sequestration and bioinformatics.
“Research universities like KAUST are increasingly placing supercomputers at the heart of their curriculum, because modeling, simulation, machine learning and AI capabilities are fundamental to scientific discovery and innovation,” he said. said Trish Damkroger, senior vice president and chief product officer, HPC, AI & Labs at HPE.
According to the TOP500 list, Frontier, housed at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility in Tennessee, maintains its status as the world’s most advanced supercomputer.
Close behind are Argonne National Laboratory’s Aurora and Microsoft’s Eagle, taking second and third place, respectively.
