Swinburne University of Technology launched its $5.2 million supercomputer.

The new supercomputer has a processing capacity millions of times beyond that of regular computers, enabling groundbreaking research into space, the brain and complex ecosystems on Earth.

The Ngarrgu Tindebeek supercomputer received $5.2m from the Victorian Higher Education State Investment Fund (VHESIF) in 2022 and was named by Wurundjeri elders through the assistance of the Moondani Toombadool Centre. 

It translates as “Knowledge of the Void” in the local Woiwurrung language and represents the goal of harnessing the power of a supercomputer to enable researchers to explain the unknown and push the boundaries of knowledge.

Its capabilities include forming a better understanding of the mysteries of space including gravitational waves, black holes and galaxy formation. 

It will also help experts understand the brain’s operation through analysis of brain data by neuroscientists and neuroimaging experts.

“What used to take researchers and students weeks or months to achieve on their desktops, can now be done in a matter of hours,” says Data Science Research Institute Director and 2023 winner of the Shaw Prize Professor Matthew Bailes. 

“This supercomputer is designed specifically to help researchers facing massive data sets – like astronomers or neuroscientists - make groundbreaking discoveries. 

“This already makes it such a sought-after machine from scientists in Australia and around the world.

“Excitingly, it could help us become the first people to convincingly detect gravitational waves from super massive black holes by performing trillions of calculations every second for weeks."

All Victorian universities will be able to use the supercomputer in collaborative research projects. 

This program of work is expected to support 50 researchers, and be used by over 250 students from high school to PhD level.

Swinburne is also exploring longer term engagements with Wurundjeri and other Indigenous communities through the supercomputer in relation to school engagement and future research opportunities.

Indigenous artist Mandi Barton will design feature artwork for the exterior of the supercomputer in the coming months, further enhancing Ngarrgu Tindebeek’s connection to the local Wurundjeri community.