Commissioning NEMO2

Freiburgs new Supercomputer Advances Neuroscience, Elementary Particle Physics, Microsystems Technology, and Materials Science
people inaugurating NEMO2Sandra Meyndt
Roll up with info about the new NEMO2 cluster
Roll-Up NEMO2

Freiburg, 26 September 2024 - The University of Freiburg officially put the new high-performance computer NEMO2 into operation today. It replaces the predecessor cluster NEMO, which has been in operation since 2016. The supercomputer is available for research projects by Baden-Württemberg scientists in the fields of neuroscience, elementary particle physics, microsystems technology and materials science.

As part of the tenth bwHPC Symposium, the bwForCluster NEMO2 was inaugurated by the Rector of the University of Freiburg, Prof. Dr Kerstin Krieglstein, and Ministerial Director Dr. Hans J. Reiter from the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts (MWK). Ministerial Director Reiter emphasised the importance of high-performance computers such as NEMO2 for science-driven innovation in Baden-Württemberg.

Compared to its predecessor, the new high-performance computer NEMO2 has twice as many computing cores, which corresponds to the computing power of around 5,000 standard laptops. This enables scientists to simulate more complex processes and analyse larger amounts of data. The supercomputer also contains special computing nodes for AI applications and research, which will be further expanded in 2025. Since the inauguration of NEMO in 2016, 643 researchers from 7 universities have used the high-performance computer and produced around 660 publications. 
NEMO2 was funded by the German Research Foundation (2.1 million euros), the state of Baden-Württemberg (1.5 million euros) and individual research groups (600,000 euros), totalling 4.2 million euros. The high-performance computer is part of the bwHPC network of supercomputers, which is available to students and researchers at Baden-Württemberg's universities.

Rector Kerstin Krieglstein emphasised the importance of NEMO2 for the further development of the digital research infrastructure at universities in Baden-Württemberg and as a hub for interdisciplinary research. Prof. Dr Stefan Rensing, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation, underlined the new opportunities that NEMO2 opens up, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence.

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