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Moskow, Russia — 24 Oct 2008:
Moscow State University (MSU) and IBM (NYSE: IBM)
today signed an agreement to conduct joint research into nanotechnology
using a Blue Gene/P supercomputer installed at the Department
of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics. Advanced mathematical
modelling and the huge computational power of the Blue Gene/P
supercomputer will allow researchers from MSU and IBM Research - Zurich to perform cutting-edge research into new
types of nano-scale circuitry which could one day lead to a radically new
type of computing device.
The first project of collaboration between the university and IBM will
be to understand the behavior of nanomolecular switches under
various conditions. Nanomolecular switches could one day form a viable
alternative to today's transistors — the building block of microchips and
the basis for almost all electronics. Due to their "nano" size, nanomolecular
switches could allow for new generations of compact and powerful computing
devices.
As part of the agreement, MSU and IBM researches will work
side-by-side on a Blue Gene supercomputer at the Department
of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics in Moscow. The
department installed two racks of the Blue Gene/P system, which
the university bought early in 2008. Each of the racks contains
1024 quad-core processors with a total peak performance of
27,8 GFLOPS.
"As Russia's leading university, it is important for MSU to
partner with one of the world's most advanced scientific laboratories
which is well known for its ability to commercialise and industrialise
the latest scientific achievements," said Viktor Sadovnichiy,
Rector of Moscow State University. "This partnership will allow
our best researchers to benefit from the skills and experience
at IBM Research - Zurich and together tackle problems
of national and global interest".
IBM researchers from the Zurich Research Laboratory have already
demonstrated the viability of the molecular switch, but the
concept of using molecules as electronic components is still
in its infancy. In order to use molecules as the building blocks
for more complex molecular devices that could serve as logic
elements in an electronic circuit, a deep understanding of
its properties is needed. Here computational science comes
into play. Highly sophisticated simulations on massively parallel
supercomputers are suited to reveal the behavior of complex
nanosystems.
"MSU offers a unique pool of excellent theoretical knowledge
and mathematical skills that are difficult to find elsewhere,"
said Matthias Kaiserswerth, Director of IBM Research - Zurich. "Together with IBM's supercomputing know-how, the
joint research effort will advance computational science to
a truly new level".
Computational Science has become instrumental in pushing forward
the frontiers of research and innovation in an increasing number
of key fields such as nanotechnology, biology, engineering
or finance and risk. Many of these areas are of interest for
both institutions and for the long-term the collaboration is
expected to exploit their different and unique expertise not
only in nanotechnology but also in other fields in which advanced
simulation can help to understand very complex problems.
About IBM Research
IBM Research is a prolific and far-reaching commercial lab,
with five Nobel Prize laureates and 15 years of US patent
leadership. IBM Research is engaged with many public and
private researchers around the world to better understand
and address some of the biggest issues of our time.
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IBM Research
