CSIRO Uses Dell Supercomputer to Help Combat Post-Childbirth Complications in Women
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The CSIRO and Dell have built a HPC cluster solution to support
CSIRO’s data driven research activities. -
One such use of the Pearcey cluster is to simulate the stressful
forces a patient experiences; this allows CSIRO scientists to model a
variety of solutions to help combat post-childbirth complications.
ROUND ROCK, Texas & SYDNEY–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
(CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency, has teamed up with
solutions provider Dell to deliver CSIRO’s newest high performance
computing cluster (HPC), named Pearcey.
The Pearcey cluster supports CSIRO research activities in a broad range
of areas such as Bioinformatics, Fluid Dynamics and Materials Science.
One CSIRO researcher benefiting from using Pearcey is Dr. Dayalan
Gunasegaram, a CSIRO computational modeler who is using Pearcey for the
modelling work behind the development of an improved nylon mesh for use
in pelvic organ prolapse (POP) surgery, which has the potential to
benefit the one in five Australian women that have surgery for the
condition at some point in their lives.
“Current mesh implants that haven’t been well designed for this purpose
can lead to pain and discomfort, so we’ve teamed up with researchers
from Monash University to develop an improved mesh for supporting
prolapsed organs and treating the condition more effectively,” Dr.
Gunasegaram said. “Using the high performance computing capability of
the Pearcey cluster we can simulate the stressful forces a patient would
experience, such as during coughing or running, and model a variety of
different situations to assess the mesh under stress.”
The new leading-edge computing hardware has helped to accelerate the
research which would have taken longer without the specialized Pearcey
cluster.
“With thousands of processor cores available, Pearcey allows us to do
more finite element analysis computations within a given time, which
means we’re able to advance to the next stage of testing much sooner
than if we didn’t have something so powerful.
“The computer simulations allow us to better understand the
cause-and-effect relationships between mesh parameters, such as pore
size and their expected in-vivo performance after implantation, and
really focus on the areas with the most influence.
“By focusing on these areas, we’re able to reduce the amount of physical
testing we need to carry out on animals and humans, and the associated
ethical and financial costs,” Dr. Gunasegaram continued.
The HPC cluster is named after Australian ICT pioneer Dr. Trevor
Pearcey, who led the CSIRO project team that built one of the world’s
first digital computers, CSIR Mk1 / CSIRAC.
Pearcey is a Dell HPC system designed by CSIRO and Dell that delivers
230 nodes supporting data-intensive research and computational
modelling. Below are its key features:
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Based on Dell PowerEdge 13th generation M630 blade servers,
each with 128GB RAM, and four PowerEdge R930 nodes each with 3 TB of
memory for large memory applications. - Servers are connected via 1:1 Mellanox FDR InfiniBand Networking.
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Built with Bright Cluster Manager, enabling a software defined
approach to management. -
Sixteen of the PowerEdge M630 blade servers are configured with 512GB
RAM and use ScaleMP software connected architecture to create a
single, high memory, 8 TB cluster under a single operating system.
The manager for Dell APJ HPC, Andrew Underwood, said, “It’s vitally
important we work closely with our customers to make sure we architect
the right solution for their needs, and Pearcey is the result of more
than three years of close collaboration with CSIRO’s Information
Management and Technology team to clarify their objectives, and
consolidate their infrastructure.”
“High performance computing facilities such as Pearcey are an integral
part of the advanced information and communications technologies that
enable CSIRO science to solve real issues,” said Angus Macoustra,
executive manager of Scientific Computing at CSIRO. “Pearcey joins our
portfolio of scientific computing facilities – these world class
computing and storage services are essential to the delivery of CSIRO’s
research portfolio and allow us to accelerate research impact and
delivery to CSIRO’s customers compared to past systems.”
About our Partnership
CSIRO research makes a difference to industry, people and the planet. By
teaming with organizations like CSIRO, Dell can apply its learnings to a
growing number of vertical markets, extending the value of HPC as this
transformative technology moves to the mainstream.
About Dell
Dell Inc. listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and
services that give them the power to do more. For more information,
visit www.dell.com.
Dell is a trademark of Dell Inc. Dell disclaims any proprietary interest
in the marks and names of others.
About CSIRO
At CSIRO, we do the extraordinary every day. We innovate for tomorrow
and help improve today – for our customers, all Australians and the
world.
We imagine. We collaborate. We innovate.
Contacts
Dell
Michael Bruen, +61 2 9818 9342
mbruen@ppr.com.au
or
Claire
Malyon, +61 2 9818 0958
cmalyon@ppr.com.au
or
Perrin
Cox, +1-512-723-8881
perrin_cox@dell.com
or
CSIRO
Andrew
Warren, +61 7 3833 5666
Andrew.warren@csiro.au
