Digital Research Alliance of Canada, Compute Ontario award $43 million to the University of Waterloo to renew advanced research computing infrastructure
A joint investment from the Digital Research Alliance of Canada (the Alliance) and the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) to renew high performance computing and cloud storage at the Graham Data Centre will provide researchers across Canada with robust compute capacity and secure storage to advance ground-breaking research.
The funding was announced during an event held at the University of Waterloo and attended by Bryan May, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business and the Honourable Nolan Quinn, Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities.
From left to right: Bryan May, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business, the Honourable Nolan Quinn, Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities, and George Ross, chief executive officer of the Digital Research Alliance of Canada, attending the funding announcement at the University of Waterloo.
“Since 2017, the computing power of the University of Waterloo’s Graham Data Centre has been harnessed by thousands of researchers from multiple research institutions to drive innovation in areas from climate change to drug discovery to AI,” said Dr. Charmaine Dean, vice-president, Research and International. “Being at the forefront of research and innovation demands powerful computing capacity to support the rapid technological advancements made by our students, faculty and entrepreneurs. That’s why today’s announcement of funding for digital research infrastructure is vitally important. Thank you to our partners at the Digital Research Alliance of Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities for recognizing the importance of this shared resource.”
The Graham Data Centre is part of a national network of large-scale computing resources that are critical for advanced research computing (ARC). The latest investment will enable faster processing speeds, greater storage capacity and improved reliability to better address the needs of researchers across Canada.
“In today’s innovation-driven economy, academic data is paramount to Canada’s future. The knowledge generated by researchers is one of our most powerful assets and we must safeguard these university ecosystems to drive social change and fuel technological advancement,” said George Ross, chief executive officer of the Digital Research Alliance of Canada. “This significant investment in our national compute infrastructure demonstrates Canada’s commitment to scientific excellence and to bolstering our position as a leader in the global knowledge economy. The Alliance is proud to collaboratively lead this dynamic digital transformation.”
