Lab places $40 million Sun order
Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
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The Cambridge-Cranfield High Performance Computing Facility (HPCF) has placed an $40 million order for Sun Microsystems computer equipment, including 10 top-end Sun Fire 15k "Starcat" servers. The systems will be used for research into fluid dynamics, brain imaging, engineering and high-energy physics.
The facility is jointly run by the University of Cambridge and Cranfield University. The computers will be installed this fall and will fold into Britain's plans to federate computers into an interconnected supercomputing "grid."