02/20/12 6:00pm

Article By: EarthTechling

February 20, 2012 By Kristy Hessman

Soon, Australia won’t just be home to kangaroos, kola bears and those yummy chocolate Tim Tam treats. It will also be the home of the world’s greenest supercomputer. The IBM Blue Gene/Q will take up residence at the Victorian Life Sciences Computation Initiative (VLSCI) at the University of Melbourne. And its mission is a lofty one: to help find cures to life-threatening diseases.

The University of Melbourne and IBM are in the second stage of agreements to provide the computing technology on the university’s campus. The supercomputer is expected to be operational by June. The Victorian government and the university established the $100 million VLSCI to strengthen the research capabilities and outcomes of Victorian life sciences research. The initiative brings together biology experts from around the world and massive computation power to help tackle potentially fatal diseases worldwide.

image via IBM

As for what makes the IBM Blue Gene/Q “green,” it’s all about efficiency. The Green500, for a third time, ranked the computer as the world’s most energy-efficient supercomputer in its latest edition, announced in November 2011. The IBM achieves its stellar efficiency by aggregating many low-power processors, according to the computer science researchers who draw up the Green500 list.

The Green500 list came about in recent years, say its developers, “as a response to the emergence of supercomputers that consume egregious amounts of electrical power and produce so much heat that extravagant cooling facilities must be constructed to ensure proper operation.” The goal of the list is to “raise awareness to other performance metrics of interest (e.g., performance per watt and energy efficiency for improved reliability),” as well as to “encourage supercomputing stakeholders to ensure that supercomputers are only simulating climate change and not creating climate change.”

This is a cross post from EarthTechling.

EarthTechling is an online consumer publication focused on all things green technology. From clean energy and electric vehicles to green gadgets and green buildings, our passionate team and readers weigh in on the latest green news, services, and products.

Image courtesy of Australia Tourist Guide