IBM Blue Gene/P supercomputer. President Obama recognized IBM and its Blue Gene family of supercomputers with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the country's most prestigious award given to leading innovators for technological achievement. Blue Gene's speed and expandability have enabled business and science to address a wide range of complex problems and make more informed decisions - not just in the life sciences, but also in astronomy, climate, simulations, modeling and many other areas. Courtesy of IBM

Warsaw, Poland - May 11, 2011

The Interdisciplinary Center for Mathematical and Computational Modeling (ICM) of University of Warsaw announced today that it will be the first scientific center in Poland to use the IBM (NYSE: IBM) Blue Gene/P system.

This supercomputer technology will enable researchers to calculate a wide range of complex problems with advanced scalability and energy efficiency, ultimately enlarging the Center's computational operations.

Under the contract, IBM will also manage the integration and deliver maintenance services for ICM's supercomputer.

As part of the agreement, the supercomputer will be used in scientific research carried out under a national program called Calculation of the Great Challenges of Science and Technology or "POWIEW".

Dr. Paul M. Horn. Under Dr. Paul M. Horn’s leadership as senior vice president and director, IBM Research produced an unmatched string of technological breakthroughs, including the chess-playing supercomputer Deep Blue, the world's first copper chip, the giant magneto-resistive head (GMR) and strained silicon - a discovery that allows chips to run up to 35 percent faster. A solid state physicist by training, Horn also led IBM Research in the development of IBM Blue Gene. He challenged his team to come up with the next big thing that would make an impact the way Deep Blue had. His team came up with a project to build the fastest computer in the world. Then he brought together software and systems groups to create a distinctly cross-disciplinary project that would have a profound impact on IBM and the deep computing industry. Courtesy of IBM

The system will take on computationally intensive scientific problems described as "major challenges" in areas such as meteorology, cosmology, materials sciences and neuroinformatics.

For example, IBM's Blue Gene/P system will be used to model electrical potentials in the brain, allowing researchers to verify several years' worth of posed hypotheses about the dynamics of sensory information processing.

It will also contribute to ICM's Virtual Science Library project, which makes available to all the academic centers in Poland a wide range of publications, doctoral dissertations, electronic information resources and scientific data.

The POWIEW project will also use ICM's supercomputer to support the development of new algorithms and computational methods for next generation supercomputer architectures that will be in use before 2020.

Nautilus - the most energy efficient supercomputer in the world. The Green 500 report (www.green500.org) announced found that the most energy efficient supercomputer in the world is the IBM system installed in the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling (ICM), at the University of Warsaw. Courtesy of IBM

"Thanks to the enormous progress of computer technology, we can take on scientific challenges that were - not so long ago - far beyond the boundaries of imagination, such as understanding the nature of systems of extreme complexity, ranging from the atomic to the cosmological scale," said Professor Marek Niezgodka, ICM's Director.
"It all opens up exciting new opportunities and poses ambitious challenges for ICM teams and our colleagues. The ability to work with IBM -- the world leader in technology in this field -- inspires us, as does the creation of new solutions and the acquisition of new knowledge that the IBM supercomputer will enable."

Nautilus - the most energy efficient supercomputer in the world. (L-R) Maciej Remiszewski, STG IBM Poland; Uwe Posautz, Vice President IBM Systems and Technology Group Central and Eastern Europe (CEE); Professor Marek Niezgódka, ICM Director; Krzysztof Bulaszewski, STG Director, IBM Poland; Renata Kuśmider, Academic Initiative IBM Poland; Maciej Cytowski, ICM. Warsaw, Poland - date: 2008-11-21. Courtesy of IBM

"IBM's smarter systems are used in major worldwide research projects. ICM's selection of IBM supercomputing technology will enable the Center to significantly contribute to the development and success of Polish research projects," said Krzysztof Bulaszewski, Sales Management Advisor, IBM Poland.
"IBM is proud to cooperate with Polish scientific institutions."

The IBM Blue Gene/P is expected to facilitate a closer collaboration between ICM Polish scientists, IBM developers and the Forschungszentrum Julich in Germany, which installed a Blue Gene/P in 2007 - one of the fastest in the world.

Blue Gene is one of the 100 Icons of Progress in IBM's 100 year history because it is a radical departure from the supercomputers of its time, consuming only a fraction of the energy and floor space.

Blue Gene's speed and expandability have enabled industry and the scientific community to address a wide range of complex problems and make more informed decisions.


More information about POWIEW Project


POWIEW project realized under The Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education patronage is co-funding by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund under the Innovative Economy Program.

It envisages establishment of research groups of scientists and High Performance Computing (HPC) systems developers.

More information about IBM supercomputers, visit

http://www.ibm.com/systems/deepcomputing/  

For more information on IBM Icons of Progress, visit

http://www.ibm.com/ibm100/us/en/icons/  


Contact(s) information

Joanna Brewer
IBM Media Relations
415-971-2777
jmbrewer@us.ibm.com  

Monika Maciag
IBM Media Relations
+48 693 93 5342
monika.maciag@pl.ibm.com  

Dr. Maciej Filocha
ICM, University of Warsaw
+48 22 874 91 00
m.filocha@icm.edu.pl  


Source: IBM

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/34480.wss  



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