At the Tecnopolo in Bologna the Cavalieri del Lavoro meet Leonardo. “Supercomputers are our future, along with AI”
The delegation saw the "million-processor" machines. Storchi: Strengthening the European presence in high performance computing is a strategic asset"
BOLOGNA – The technological growth of EU countries is closely linked to the European presence in high performance computing. The delegation of the Cavalieri del Lavoro is certain of this as it visited one of the 11 technopoles of the Emilia Romagna network, the Tecnopole of Bologna, precisely to have a close encounter with two “supercomputers”.
The delegation visiting the Tecnopolo of Bologna, led by Fabio Storchi, president of the Emiliano Romagnolo Group dei Cavalieri, was able to see the two supercomputers up close: Leonardo from Cineca and the supercomputer of the data center of the European Weather Centre (Ecmwf).
“The Tecnopolo of Bologna is an exceptional asset for our country and its industrial economic system – said Storchi – grappling with the challenges posed by digital transformation. >The ultimate objective is to strengthen the European presence in high performance computing, a strategic asset to promote the technological growth of the Member States of the European Union. A comparison is needed on the supercalculators and quantum computers they represent our future, together with artificial intelligence“.
WHO IS LEONARDO AND WHAT HE CAN DO
Supercalculators are machines that have millions of processors and their function is to carry out, very quickly, billions of very complicated calculations. Leonardo, the Cineca super computer, has a computing power of 250 petaFlops, for a total of 250 million billion floating point operations per second, with a capacity of storage of over 100 petabytes. Their function is therefore fundamental and strategic in an era in which the challenge is knowing how to read and profitably manage the immense amount of data we have available. An extraordinary technological power, waiting for quantum computers. Leonardo is one of the pre-exascale supercomputers that will form the European high-performance computing network EuroHpc.
Both supercomputers use extremely complex models and are able to calculate an infinite number of cause-effect events. From mitigation and management of risks due to natural events, to analyzes to study the functions, properties and behaviors of materials. From underground research to the power of artificial intelligence.
The Bologna Technopole will soon also welcomethe 14th headquarters of the UN University for the study of the human habitat , as well as numerous other national and international research centers. It is an integrated system in which businesses, universities, the National Institute of Nuclear Physics, Ifab-International Foundation Big Data and Ai for Human Development interact. The ultimate objective is to strengthen the European presence in high performance computing, a strategic asset to promote the technological growth of the Member States of the European Union.