Intersect LIEF2020 Supercomputing Grant Application Submitted

The Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities application is led by Professor Evatt Hawkes from the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of New South Wales. It brings together a consortium of fifteen Chief Investigators, drawn from eight Intersect member universities, as representative of the over 900 researchers who accessed HPC through the Intersect partnership with the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) in 2018.

Peak supercomputing capability enables simulations of unprecedented scale and speed and unlocks the potential of data, thereby offering major opportunities for discovery and innovation. Successful application will enable leading researchers across the member universities of Intersect to capitalise on these opportunities by continuing their access to the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) peak facilities. Intersect has supplied, operated, and brokered supercomputing for its members since inception over 10 years ago, both independently and in partnership with NCI.

Researchers from Intersect member organisations use supercomputing to address major problems in a wide range of areas including all nine Australian Government Science and Research Priorities: Food, Soil and Water, Transport, Cyber Security, Energy, Resources, Advanced Manufacturing, Environmental Change, and Health. Previous access to NCI, supported by successful ARC LIEF grant funding, has a proven track record of delivering tangible economic, commercial, environmental, and social benefits to the nation.

The 2020 application seeks $1.35M in funding to match $1.35M in co-contributions from Intersect member universities. This will allow Intersect to provide HPC capability to its member organisations for a further three years when current grants (LE160100002 and LE170100032) conclude in March 2020. It is critical that the investigators and other researchers have continuing access to the scale, integration and focus, that NCI offers. This will enable them to tackle significant problems in a diverse range of fields of national importance.

Intersect acknowledges the commitment and contribution of the fifteen dedicated Chief Investigators that contributed their reputation and effort to the application: Professor Evatt Hawkes, Professor Marc Wilkins, and Professor Katrin Meissner (UNSW); Professor Geraint Lewis and Associate Professor Ben Thornber (University of Sydney); Professor Brian Smith and Associate Professor David Wilson (La Trobe University); Professor Murray Cairns and Associate Professor Stephan Chalup (University of Newcastle); Professor Michael Ford and Doctor Evelyne Deplazes (University of Technology Sydney); Associate Professor Ming Zhao and Professor Richard Yang (Western Sydney University); Doctor Rose Andrew (University of New England); and Doctor Muhammad Khan (Charles Sturt University).

We are very thankful for this collaborative effort and wish all involved success in the ARC process, the next step being the rejoinder round in the latter half of 2019.