2005 IRISH SCIENTIST YEAR BOOK

Home Page

Table of contents

Index by Author

Index by topics

Search


Trinity College Dublin
Graeme Watson
IITAC at TCD installs IBM's largest InfiniBand cluster in Europe

The Lloyd Institute which houses IITAC's interdisciplinary research and purpose-built machine room

The Institute for Information Technology and Advanced Computing (IITAC) is a Higher Education Authority (HEA) PRTLI funded strategic research programme in computational biomolecular science, linking researchers in physical science with computer and biological science. The project builds on the IITAC cycle 1 PRTLI programme enhancing existing interdisciplinary research and large scale training programmes.

The physical sciences elements focus on fundamental computational methods to understand structure and processes in complex physical systems such as materials, foams, and molecules. The biomolecular sciences programme builds on existing expertise and technology to address such important research areas as biomolecular modelling, rational drug design, structural biology and proteomics. The computer science elements focus on software technologies for visualisation, for perceptually adaptive graphics, and for interactive animation.


A 712 processor Operton cluster with a Voltaire InfiniBand interconnect

To provide the necessary information, computing systems and biological infrastructure, the IITAC project has purchased the following equipment:

  • High Performance Computing equipment: The IITAC Cluster is IBM's largest InfiniBand Cluster in Europe � with a recent upgrade comprising of a 712 processor Operton Cluster with a Voltaire InfiniBand interconnect. www.tchpc.tcd.ie

  • X-ray Diffraction Equipment: This allows visualisation of the three-dimensional structures of macromolecules such as proteins. Many human disease conditions (such as cancer) are a consequence of the inappropriate action of proteins, often due to a genetic mutation. Knowledge of the shape and chemistry of proteins involved in human diseases can lead to the development of novel drugs that specifically block their function.

  • High-Throughput Mass Spectrometry: This is a facility for protein identifi-cation.

  • Immersive Visualisation: This state-of-the-art visualisation facility provides a fully immersive 3D system for scientific visualisation � the first in Ireland.

Trinity is now offering access to the High Performance computing system for research and development purposes and to industry. Please contact [email protected] .



This research and infrastructure programme investment of �20m by the HEA builds on the cycle 1 and cycle 3 PRTLI programmes which include purpose built facilities in the newly opened Lloyd Institute at TCD.

This phase of the IITAC project has funded 35 PhD students, a dozen Post Doctoral Researchers and provides technical expertise and project management. The impact of this programme on computational science in Ireland cannot be underestimated.


The Trinity Centre for High Performance Computing

The Trinity Centre for High Performance Computing is a research support and development unit in Trinity College which leads the IITAC programme. Its mission is to expand the use of advanced computing technologies both in academic research and in business applications. The Centre provides a range of services from basic support of computational systems, clusters, and supercomputers, all the way through to the ab-initio development of software solutions to model the most complex systems and processes. Its services also include project proposal preparation and management. The Centre carries out consultancy and joint research contracts with local and international business. A core emphasis in the Centre is to develop and support multidisciplinary research projects which are enabled only by combining expertise from many different research areas. In such multidisciplinary projects, the Centre often acts as the common glue which links together the disparate groups involved.

Trinity College Dublin is proud to be a partner in the Irish High-End Computing Centre (ICHEC) which expects to deliver terascale computing and storage by the end of 2005.

Contact: Dr Graeme Watson, Director, Trinity Centre for High Performance Computing and Principal Investigator of the IITAC project, Room 205, 2nd Floor, Lloyd Institute, Trinity College, Dublin 2; Ph: 353 1 608 1357; E-mail: [email protected] ; Web: www.tchpc.tcd.ie