SPPU Vice-Chancellor Nitin Karmalkar and others at the 56th Foundation Day celebrations of IITM. SPPU Vice-Chancellor Nitin Karmalkar and others at the 56th Foundation Day celebrations of IITM.

(By Rushikesh Gawade)

The fastest supercomputer in the country will be installed in the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, by January 2018. The computer will be five to six times faster than the current fastest supercomputer, which is installed at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.

The supercomputer is expected to help in speeding up many scientific research projects in meteorology, IITM Director Ravi Nanjundiah told reporters on the sidelines of the 56th Foundation Day celebrations of the institute. The supercomputer will also help increase the speed and accuracy of monsoon forecasts, said Nanjundiah.

Earlier, during his welcome address, the director said the process of installation of the supercomputer was currently underway and it was expected to be operational within the next couple of months. The combined processing speed of the computer will be nearly 6.8 petaflops, making it the fastest in the country.

The foundation day lecture at the ceremony was delivered by Professor S K Satheesh, winner of the Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Prize. He spoke about short-lived climate forces, particularly aerosols and black carbon, and the global policy issues pertaining to them.

Satheesh claimed that developed countries tend to exaggerate the role of black carbon in global warming. Savitribai Phule Pune University’s Vice-Chancellor, Nitin Karmalkar, was the chief guest at the event.

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