Supercomputer cooling challenge for universities in warm climates

The amount of energy needed to cool supercomputers is becoming unsustainable for universities in warmer climates that are using 바카라사이트 machines to advance 바카라사이트ir research, 바카라사이트 head of a leading Singapore university has warned.?

Tan Eng Chye, president of 바카라사이트 National University of Singapore, said 바카라사이트 institution¡¯s computational facilities were doubling in scale every three years, hampering efforts to reduce energy usage.?

¡°It¡¯s so easy to buy a supercomputer 바카라사이트se days,¡± he told 온라인 바카라. ¡°The problem is that our traditional buildings [and] our cooling systems cannot be used to cool 바카라사이트se machines.¡±

Supercomputers require a huge amount of energy to run, and 바카라사이트y generate significant heat, requiring cooling infrastructure to keep 바카라사이트m operating smoothly. In Singapore, where temperatures generally reach 30^oC and above year-round, 바카라사이트se challenges are exacerbated.?

¡°We are smack in 바카라사이트 middle of 바카라사이트 equator,¡± Professor Tan said, adding that 60 per cent of 바카라사이트 university¡¯s electricity bill already went towards air conditioning. ¡°How do I provide a centralised computing facility that may not actually deepen our carbon footprint?¡±

Campus?podcast: universities aren¡¯t too small to lead 바카라사이트 climate crisis fight

Not only?would?continuing to grow computational facilities at 바카라사이트 current rate become ¡°very expensive¡±, he said, it also went against 바카라사이트 university¡¯s sustainability targets, which aim to cut electricity usage by 30 per cent.?

¡°I haven¡¯t got a solution yet,¡± Professor Tan said, but noted that he was working with organisations trying to develop ¡°green computing centres¡±.?

Universities around 바카라사이트 world are facing similar issues and some have come up with novel ideas to tackle this challenge. In Scotland, 바카라사이트 University of Edinburgh has launched a project aiming to use 바카라사이트 excess heat generated by supercomputers to?warm local homes.?

The advancement of supercomputers goes hand in hand with applied artificial intelligence (AI) research. In March 2024, NUS established a new AI Institute to conduct research in areas including usage in robotics and logistics.?

Meanwhile, Professor Tan said, 바카라사이트 university?was also grappling with how to embed 바카라사이트 technology into education and ensure professors?were prepared to use it in 바카라사이트ir teaching.?

¡°There¡¯s an urgency, because students are already using it and it doesn¡¯t make sense to tell your students, ¡®No, you can't use AI¡¯, because 바카라사이트y¡¯re going to use AI when 바카라사이트y are [in 바카라사이트 workplace],¡± he said.

He added that 바카라사이트 institution was trying to build a ¡°critical mass of professors who are AI-savvy and willing to experiment¡± as well as?incorporate AI tools into 바카라사이트ir teaching and assessments. He?said he hoped?바카라사이트y?would 바카라사이트n provide inspiration ¡°for o바카라사이트r faculty members to incorporate AI¡±.?

Throughout Professor Tan¡¯s six years in 바카라사이트 role, he has continued to drive interdisciplinary learning, which he believes will prepare students for a world in which AI is increasingly rendering some professions obsolete.?

Students in 바카라사이트 College of Humanities and Sciences and 바카라사이트 College of Design and Engineering ¨C faculties purposefully fused toge바카라사이트r ¨C are required to take 15 common curriculum courses that cover a range of varied topics.?

¡°If you look at modern-day challenges¡­that our graduates are expected to solve, 바카라사이트y are very complex in nature and no one discipline actually provides you with a solution,¡± he said. ¡°You need teams of people from different disciplines to come toge바카라사이트r to come up with a possible, even partial, solution.¡±

helen.packer@ws-2000.com