University of Florida to buy $24M supercomputer
The University of Florida board of trustees this month approved spending $24 million to purchase a more advanced supercomputer.
The funds will be used to upgrade the university’s HiPerGator supercomputer, which according to its website, has been in version 3.0 since it was completed in 2021. According to its specification sheet, the existing computing cluster includes 9,600 AMD cores that each clock in at 3.0 GHz.
The new system, which is being delivered through a collaboration with Nvidia, includes the company’s DGX SuperPOD platform, which is designed for supporting artificial intelligence applications. According to Nvidia’s website, the platform will bring the university “unprecedented compute density, performance, and flexibility.”
“NVIDIA’s Eos, one of the fastest supercomputers in the world, and other clusters based on the DGX SuperPOD architecture perennially make the top tier of the TOP500 and Green500 lists and set MLPerf benchmark records,” Nvidia’s marketing materials proclaim.
The Gainsville Sun reported that, since 2020, the University of Florida has added more than 100 professors who specialize in AI. Some of their work has included identifying threats to the state’s coastal habitats and early disease detection.
“UF is a proven leader in AI, and this new technology will help us expand our reach even more,” Interim Provost Joe Glover said. “As AI continues to impact all facets of the state’s economy, we are thrilled to continue innovating at UF with this cutting-edge supercomputer.”
