American tech giant Intel and NUI Galway will be looking to tap into and share researchers in a new agreement that will see the two organisations work together in the fields of high-performance computing (HPC) and big data analytics.

As part of the agreement, a new research building will be built and will be called the Intel Parallel Computing Centre.

Intel will fund the research programme led by director of the Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC), Prof JC Desplat, and the programme will foster the uptake of current and next-generation Intel many-core technology, such as the Intel Xeon Phi co-processor.

Speaking at today’s announcement, NUI Galway president Dr Jim Browne said: “We in NUI Galway are proud of our long association with ICHEC since its establishment and are very pleased to support their ongoing work.”

Fusing academia and industry

“We believe that ICHEC’s mission is vital for Ireland and that its services are very important to academia and industry alike. Today’s signing is a wonderful example of the work of ICHEC. We are delighted to be working with Intel in this way and look forward to our continuing partnership,” Browne added.

Intel vice-president and director of Intel Labs Europe, Martin Curley, said Intel is pleased to expand its Intel Parallel Computing Centre programme by collaborating with NUI Galway and ICHEC.

“This new centre creates an opportunity for Intel, NUI Galway and ICHEC to innovate and optimise applications which benefit industry and science in Ireland, Europe, and globally,” Curley said.