New supercomputer Alarik fastest in southern Sweden

A new supercomputer – faster and cleverer than all the others has been inaugurated and put to use at the Faculty of Engineering (LTH). The new acquisition is called Alarik and is twice as powerful as the previously most advanced computer. Alarik is now ready to serve new and old ‟customers" within and outside LU together with some of the older supercomputers which are still in use within Lunarc, which is a skills centre for scientific and technical calculations and hosts the new supercomputer. In addition to performance which is approximately twice as powerful as the best previous supercomputer, Platon, Alarik offers a new opportunity for researchers to view results of ongoing calculations directly on their own computer screens. "We hope that this will enable Alarik to be used by new groups who previously did not dare to use these powerful resources" says Lunarc's director Jonas Lindemann. The new supercomputer - absolutely the most powerful in southern Sweden - has been partially financed by the Swedish Research Council and costs SEK six million. At the inauguration at the Faculty of Engineering's Vattenhallen Science Centre, Lunarc chair Professor Göran Sandberg, from Engineering Acoustics, explained that five faculties are already part of the cooperation that began in 1986.