September 2004
Knowledge Transfer

IPI Commissions High-Performance Facilities

The University's Institute of Pharmaceutical Innovation (IPI) now has powerful computing and visualisation facilities and a dedicated Systems Administrator to support its innovative programme of computational pharmaceutics.

The IPI, opened by Science Minister Lord Sainsbury in October 2003, uses the latest artificial intelligence and computer simulation technology to research new methods for the development of better drugs.

At the core of the IPI's new computational suite is a high-performance Linux Computer Cluster.

The 48-node cluster has 96 2.8 GHz Intel Xeon processors, 96 GB memory, and over 2 TB of disk space - the equivalent of about 100 desktop PCs. Alongside the cluster is a suite of high-performance graphics workstations and a 3-D stereo projection virtual reality system.

These are used to analyse computational results, such as 3-D models of molecules or crystal structures.

IPI Senior Scientist Dr Frank Leusen said: "The state-of-the-art computational and visualisation facilities at the IPI allow us to perform and analyse simulations in pharmaceutical development that we could previously only dream of."

He said the system could dramatically cut the time it took to simulate an experiment, adding: "It will also enable us to extend the scale of an experiment to 100 times the size we have previously been used to."

Dr Victoria Pennington, an expert in Linux cluster system management and the provision of high- performance computing services to the research community, has been appointed full-time as systems administrator.

Frank added: "Her in-depth knowledge of Linux clusters is already proving to be a tremendous asset to the IPI."

28 September 2004

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