Harriet Brooks (1876–1933) was Canada’s first female nuclear physicist who worked with Marie Curie and later contributed to research on radon gas.
Today Shared Services Canada (SSC) dedicated a pair of Cray supercomputers in Quebec. The new HPC systems will be used by the Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to improve the accuracy and timeliness of weather warnings and forecasts.
This High Performance Computing solution supports ECCC’s ability to produce weather information that not only increases the safety and security of Canadians, but will also benefit families who rely on accurate weather forecasts in their day to day lives,” said Minister Carla Qualtrough. “It is a privilege to commemorate Harriet Brooks and Kenneth Hare for their contributions to the Canadian scientific community by naming two supercomputers in their honor.”
Dr. Kenneth Hare (1919–2002) was a Canadian environmental science advocate and one of the first to raise the alarm about carbon-driven climate change.
With 2.4 Petaflops of power, the news systems comprise the fastest HCP platform in Canada. The supercomputers will be used to process large-scale simulations, such as the modeling of complex weather systems, including the behavior of major storms and their effect on the environment. These models are valuable to almost every sector of the economy, including health sciences, environmental management, agriculture and transportation.
Accurate and timely weather forecasting helps us protect our homes and businesses in the face of extreme storms and tornadoes, which are getting worse due to climate change. By supporting quality weather forecasts and warnings, the new High Performance Computers will help protect Canadians for years to come.”
SCC also announced that they are currently hiring engineers to support the new supercomputers.
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