Wilkes Supercomputer at Cambridge remains “Greenest”

The supercomputer that is the “greenest of its kind” remains at Cambridge University. Wilkes (named after computing pioneer Maurice Wilkes) is used for development of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). While it is some way off being the most powerful in the world – Wilkes was built to be efficient rather than powerful. “Energy-efficiency is the biggest single challenge in supercomputing today and our new system makes an important step forward in this regard,” said Dr Paul Calleja, director of the Cambridge High Performance Computing Service. Wilkes remains in 2nd place on the Green 500, a ranking of the most energy-efficient computers published in June 2014. However the leading machine, built by a team in Tokyo, requires an oil-cooling system, whereas Wilkes is cooled using air, making it the most efficient of its kind. Other UK entrants in the Top 100 include STFC (26,81,&85), University of Edinburgh (31), AWE (62&63) and University of Southampton (91)