News

Cosmology machine heads for new home in Africa

(19 April 2006)

A supercomputer at Durham University that has been a star performer in unravelling the evolution of the Universe is taking on a new role to boost higher education work in Africa.

The Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC) at Durham has donated one of its ‘crown jewels’ to the Kigali Institute for Science and Technology (KIST) in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. The supercomputer, called CENTAUR, was the original engine of the Cosmology Machine which has been used by ICC researchers to simulate the evolution of the Universe, from the Big Bang to the present day. CENTAUR still has a long and active life, but the cosmologists need even more powerful equipment to continue their work. The Cosmology Machine was supplied by Sun Microsystems who arranged the donation to Rwanda, where it will be used as individual workstations and for large calculations needed in research. Director of the ICC Professor Carlos Frenk, said that since the development and use of the cosmology machine was part of an international research network, it was very appropriate that it should continue to be used by the international higher education community, when the time had come to replace it. The ICC’s replacement computer system will be at least 50 times more powerful. The Cosmology Machine is used by the international Virgo consortium for cosmological simulations. Virgo’s research is jointly led by the ICC in Durham and the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Munich and involves researchers from the UK, Germany, Holland, Canada, the USA and Japan. Professor Frenk said; “It has been used to carry out some of the largest and most precise simulations of the universe, including the first simulation that produced a virtual spiral galaxy similar to our own Milky Way. The computer is fed a few numbers that describe the Big Bang and is programmed to solve the basic equations of Physics that describe the evolution of the Universe. ICC researchers were the first to hit upon the right approach to make a realistic galaxy in a computer. The results made up the centrepiece of an exhibit entitled ‘Cosmic Cookery’ which was featured at last year's Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in London.” Sun Microsystems were aware that the Kigali Institute could make good use of an array of computers with the power of CENTAUR. Simon Tindall, from sales development at Sun Microsystems, said: “The CENTAUR machine has played a significant role in UK cosmology research over the past few years and we are delighted that students in Rwanda are now being given the opportunity to benefit from its super-computing power. Sun is dedicated to eliminating the digital divide and initiatives like this take a huge step towards improving network accessibility for people who might not otherwise have the opportunity.” The equipment was shipped to Rwanda in March, with Sun covering the air transport. The packaging was organised by Dr Lydia Heck, Senior Computer Manager who has managed CENTAUR since it was installed. She said: “It is rather difficult to let go of them. I asked the transport company if they could send me a picture of when they are fully packed ready to go by plane to Kigali. They said: ‘you must be attached to them’. And indeed I was and still am.” The original kit was bought with a grant from the Joint Research Equipment Infrastructure programme operated on behalf of the UK government by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). It is being replaced by a new machine with the help of a grant from the government's Science Research Investment Fund. CENTAUR was officially switched on in July 2001 by Patricia Hewitt, the then Secretary of State for Trade & Industry, who launched the first cosmological simulation on the machine. She commented at the time that it could be dangerous to let politicians create universes.