I-TAC hosts visits from the Technology Strategy Board and IBM

TSB board members gather at Daresbury Laboratory

While at Daresbury Laboratory on Thursday 29th March, the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) took the opportunity to see how I-TAC is working to accelerate innovation and business lead science. Board members had a tour of I-TAC's biology labs, multi-user suite, and analytical equipment, as well as meeting some of I-TAC's tenants and hearing about their progression while at I-TAC.

Dr Martin Morlidge, manager of I-TAC, said "The day has been a very successful demonstration of how I-TAC is working to accelerate business and scientific research and development."

John Womersley SEO STFC and Simon Pendlebury Vice President Storage, Europe, IBM Systems and Technology Group

On the 30th March I-TAC and Daresbury Laboratory welcomed representatives from IBM as they announced a major collaboration with STFC, creating one of the world's foremost centres in software development. This collaboration marks the launch of the International Centre of Excellence for Computational Science and Engineering (ICE-CSE), which will establish high performance computing (HPC) as an invaluable tool for UK industry.

The Department of Business Innovation and Skills announced its e-infrastructure initiative in October 2011, of the £145 million funding for the initiative £30 million went towards HPC at Daresbury Laboratory.

Forming a unique business, research, and development collaboration with STFC, IBM's most advanced computational hardware will help ICE-CSE to develop software to run the next generation of supercomputers. Successful exploitation of HPC by industrial and academic communities will lead to breakthroughs in areas as diverse as medical care and climate change.

ICE-CSE will complement the other high performance facilities located at Daresbury Laboratory, including Daresbury Laboratory's particle accelerators ALICE and EMMA, the Virtual Engineering Centre, SuperSTEM, and I-TAC.

Professor John Womersley, Chief Executive at STFC, said “The ICE-CSE is a key component of the government’s e-infrastructure initiative.  It is also essential to the UK maintaining its position as a major innovative economy and a global scientific research leader.  Our collaboration with IBM will allow industries to bring their problems to this centre, and to design, optimise and test new solutions on the UK's largest Supercomputer.  We are very excited to be working with IBM, and together we will establish a hub of innovation development to stimulate R&D based investment.  By hosting some of IBM’s most advanced supercomputers, we will develop the urgently needed software applications of the future, and support the economic and societal benefits we all wish to see from our work.”

ICE-CSE will establish high performance computing as a highly accessible and invaluable tool for UK industry, accelerating economic growth and helping to rebalance the UK economy. IBM's collaboration with STFC and the launch of ICE-CSE was also covered by STFC press releases (link opens in a new window).