Australia unleashes twin AI supercomputers in push to lead medical, climate research
Australia's AI supercomputing ambitions are hitting top gear, with two major launches unveiled this week that aim to supercharge research in medicine, climate science, and more.In Melbourne, La Trobe University has switched on the country's first AI supercomputer of its kind—a NVIDIA DGX H200 system—dedicated to transforming medical research.Located at NEXTDC's data centre in Tullamarine, the supercomputer is backed by $10 million from the Allan Labor Government.Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs Danny Pearson, who visited the site, said: 'Victoria is proud to be home to this supercomputer that will deliver more medical breakthroughs and improve healthcare for Victorians and people around the world.'
The system will enable the Australian Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Medical Innovation (ACAMI) to analyse large volumes of health data and complex 3D imaging in hours, drastically reducing research time for projects such as clinical trials, precision oncology, immunotherapy, and cardiovascular risk prediction.'The potential of AI in medical and biotech research is huge,' said La Trobe Vice-Chancellor Professor Theo Farrell.'The DGX H200 enables faster translation of research into clinical trials and personalised therapies.'The supercomputer will also support innovations in digital pathology and cancer relapse-risk prediction, with early projects including a partnership with The Florey Institute on rare neurological diseases such as Niemann-Pick type C.'The super processing performance of NVIDIA DGX H200 systems will help us explore more options and get results faster,' said Dr Ya Hui Hung from The Florey.Meanwhile, Monash University has announced its own major push into AI computing with MAVERIC—short for Monash AdVanced Environment for Research and Intelligent Computing.Backed by a AU$60 million (US$39 million) investment, the system will be built over the next two years, with activation expected in 2026.
According to the university, MAVERIC will 'fill a critical gap in Australia's high-performance computing infrastructure,' and position the institution as a 'leader in AI-driven research within the international higher education and research sector.'The platform will initially be used for early cancer detection, managing chronic diseases, empowering clinical trials, and accelerating drug discovery. It will also power climate change and planetary health research, analysing complex datasets related to air quality, Antarctic ecosystems, and the effects of heat on populations.'Investment in world-leading AI is a crucial step in supercharging our sovereign research capabilities,' said Monash Vice-Chancellor Sharon Pickering.'Monash is a well-established ecosystem of world-class researchers, health networks and partners with large-scale data and pre-identified massive research questions ready to be solved… Until now, the missing link has been the necessary compute infrastructure to fully maximise this opportunity,' she added.The university said MAVERIC will be powered entirely by renewable energy, aligning with its net-zero targets. It also plans to use the platform for training students in ethical, human-centred AI development across undergraduate and postgraduate levels.Monash already operates high-performance systems like M3 and MonARCH, comprising thousands of CPU cores and multiple GPU nodes.
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