Supercomputer for the material of the future

Six well-known professors of theoretical physics and chemistry are behind this project which has built a Network of Excellence within the energy field. The first stage is to build a computer cluster that can manage extremely demanding simulations.

“We have enormous computer power needs as the international competition within the field is very tough. In order to be able to stay on the leading edge of research we must have access to the same level of equipment as our competitors,” says Börje Johansson, Professor at the KTH Department of Applied Physics.

There are ninety or so researchers in this network, all with previous experience of research into energy materials. This project is aimed at material for production, storage and saving of energy plus the storage of radioactive waste from nuclear reactors.

Börje Johansson’s research into modern, solid material also covers new variations of steel, new nano-magnets, solar cells and batteries. The material’s properties are examined under extremely high levels of pressure and new materials are designed that can only be manufactured under high pressure and in other extreme conditions.

The lead applicants for the new network is Igor Abrikosov, Professor of Theoretical Physics and Bengt Persson, Professor at the National Supercomputer Centre (NSC), both of Linköping University. A grant of SEK 14 million to finance computing resources was recently awarded by the Wallenberg Foundation and Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing (SNIC). It is estimated that this new computer cluster, which has been purpose-designed to solve major linear algebraic problems, will be installed at NSC by the end of 2009. Other leading researchers in the network include Sven Stafström, Linköping University plus Olle Eriksson and Kersti Hermansson from Uppsala University. Kersti Hermansson is also a KTH Guest Professor at the Department of Theoretical Chemistry.

Christer Gummeson