VANCOUVER, B.C., April 20, 2017 — Today Simon Fraser University (SFU), Compute Canada and WestGrid celebrated the launch of the most powerful academic supercomputer in Canada, Cedar. Housed in the new data centre at SFU’s Burnaby Campus, Cedar will serve Canadian researchers across the country in all scientific disciplines by providing expanded compute, storage and cloud resources.

“We are honoured to be one of the four new national advanced research computing (ARC) systems that will provide Canadian researchers access to the latest technology and expertise they need to maketransformative scientific discoveries,” says Joy Johnson, SFU’s vice-president, research and
international. “SFU is a distinct leader in ARC and Cedar will place us in the world’s top 100 supercomputer installations.”

Compute Canada, in collaboration with its regional partners and member institutions, is leading a national renewal and modernization of supercomputers and data storage facilities. This first stage is valued at $75-million in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) as well as provincial and industry partners, and includes four national sites, one of which is the SFU system.

“I am pleased that our government, through the Canada Foundation for Innovation, is investing in the latest advanced scientific technology that will support front-line scientists whose contributions help us build a healthier, stronger middle class. Cedar will help scientists exchange ideas, collaborate and make discoveries that lead to faster technologies, new medical therapies and a more prosperous economy,” says the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science.

“Most research today is data intensive, whether your area is genomics, advanced materials, or humanities and social sciences,” says Dr. Dugan O’Neil, Compute Canada’s chief science officer and physics professor at SFU. “Cedar, and the three national other systems, will serve a diverse range of research projects and enable discoveries that may not have otherwise happened because the tools were simply not there.”

Currently, there are 27 data centres and 50 aging legacy systems across Canada that will be consolidated into five to ten data centres by the end of 2018. With greater computational power than all of Compute Canada’s legacy systems combined, Cedar is built for big data. The system can support researchers collecting, analyzing or sharing immense volumes of data and will provide the scale and capacity required for today’s modern research needs.

Dr. Fiona Brinkman, a professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at SFU who runs a “microbe-loving bioinformatics and genomics research lab, aiming to better control infectious diseases in a sustainable way,” is eager to get her hands on the new system.

“The new ARC system, Cedar, will allow Canadian researchers to much more quickly analyze the DNA of microbes, allowing us to more rapidly track and understand the origins and spread of infectious disease outbreaks,” says Brinkman.

“For the community of over 11,000 Canadian researchers that we serve today, Cedar will give Canadian researchers and innovators the ability to compete and excel globally using big data and big compute tools,” says Mark Dietrich, Compute Canada’s president and chief executive officer.

“We’re honoured to collaborate with our partners at SFU and WestGrid and proud of the achievements we’ve accomplished together.”

“New technology is always exciting, but combine it with our greatest resource — our people — and you’ve got something that is truly transformative,” says Lindsay Sill, executive director of WestGrid, a regional partner of Compute Canada. “With Cedar setting a new bar for computing power in Canada, and our experts behind the scenes supporting its use, I think we’ll see extraordinary advances in artificial intelligence, green technology, personalized medicine, and other key research areas that directly benefit Canadians.”

Mark Roman, SFU’s chief information officer agrees: “Providing a national, strategic research computing service involves some obvious facilities such as massive computational processing and vast storage capacity. There are also many behind-the-scenes facilities, including enormously complex support services, processes and infrastructure. Ultimately, the real success of this project is fully and completely dependent on a small group of brilliant and dedicated people—they are the true heroes who transcend the technology.”

Fast Facts

• Cedar is Canada’s most powerful academic supercomputer and one of the world’s top 100 supercomputer installations.
• Researchers across Canada will now have access to unprecedented computing power, expanded storage, and cloud resources.
• Cedar provides the scale and capacity required for today’s modern research needs and will help transcend the previous possibilities of Canadian research and innovation in a number of key areas that directly benefit Canadians, including personalized medicine, green technologies, and artificial intelligence.

About Compute Canada

Compute Canada, in partnership with regional organizations ACENET, Calcul Québec, Compute Ontario and WestGrid, leads the acceleration of research and innovation by deploying state-of-the-art advanced research computing (ARC) systems, storage and software solutions. Together we provide essential ARC services and infrastructure for Canadian researchers and their collaborators in all academic and industrial sectors. Our world-class team of more than 200 experts employed by 37 partner universities and research institutions across the country provide direct support to research teams. Compute Canada is a proud ambassador for Canadian excellence in advanced research computing nationally and internationally.

About WestGrid

WestGrid brings together computing facilities, a network of technical experts, and advanced research computing (ARC) services to meet the needs of today’s researchers. As a not-for-profit corporation, WestGrid works collaboratively with members and partners in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba to advance and support research, and to accelerate and sustain innovation and excellence in Western Canada. Together with three other regional organizations, WestGrid works with Compute Canada to provide essential ARC services and infrastructure for Canadian researchers and their collaborators in all academic and industrial sectors.

About Simon Fraser University

As Canada’s engaged university, SFU is defined by its dynamic integration of innovative education, cutting-edge research and far-reaching community engagement. SFU was founded almost 50 years ago with a mission to be a different kind of university—to bring an interdisciplinary approach to learning, embrace bold initiatives, and engage with communities near and far. Today, SFU is a leader amongst Canada’s comprehensive research universities and is ranked one of the top universities in the world under 50 years of age. With campuses in British Columbia’s three largest cities—Vancouver, Surrey and Burnaby—SFU has eight faculties, delivers almost 150 programs to over 30,000 students, and boasts more than 130,000 alumni in 130 countries around the world.

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Source: Compute Canada