Distributed Research using Advanced Computing (DiRAC) is an integrated supercomputing facility used for research in particle physics, astronomy and cosmology in the United Kingdom. DiRAC makes use of multi-core processors and provides a variety of computer architectures for use by the research community.[2][3]
Named after | Paul Dirac |
---|---|
Established | 2009 |
Location | |
Services | Supercomputing |
Director | Mark Wilkinson[1] |
Parent organization | Science and Technology Facilities Council |
Website | dirac |
Initially[when?] DiRAC was funded with an investment of £12 million from the Government of the United Kingdom's Large Facilities Capital Fund combined with funds from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and a consortium of universities in the UK. In 2012, the DiRAC facility was upgraded with a further £15 million[2][3] of UK government capital to create DiRAC II which had five installations.
DiRAC-3 was launched in 2021,[4] with three services offered at four sites:[5]
DiRAC is a backronym which honours the theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate Paul Dirac.[6]