New York University unveiled its newest supercomputer Torch—the most powerful supercomputer in New York State and one of the most powerful of any institute of higher education in the nation—at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 1, ushering in a new era of increased computational capacity for the nation’s largest private university.
Named for the University’s iconic logo, Torch is five times more powerful than NYU’s current supercomputer, Greene, with the capability to do approximately 11 quadrillion (11 x 10^15) calculations per second; it’s more sustainable too: Torch was recently ranked No. 40 on the Top Green 500, a global list of the most sustainable supercomputers in the world, thanks to its advanced liquid cooling system. Greene, which came online in 2020, was ranked No. 50 on the same list.
The introduction of this newer high performance computing (HPC) cluster dovetails perfectly with NYU’s rising prominence as a research powerhouse. In December, for the first time, the National Science Foundation’s annual Higher Education Research and Development survey ranked NYU No. 1 in New York State for research funding, as it brought in $1.5 billion in annual funds; the University was also ranked No. 5 among all private American universities and No. 12 in the nation overall.
Earlier this year, NYU acquired 770 Broadway, securing over 1 million square feet for the creation of a world-class collaborative hub of laboratories and classrooms as the University moves to the forefront of strategic areas of AI, biotechnology, and quantum information research; all of these endeavors will benefit from Torch’s computer power.
“With a state-of-the-art supercomputer, our research community can further advance innovation, make new discoveries, and deepen human knowledge,” said NYU President Linda G. Mills. “As one of the nation’s premier research universities, the Torch will help propel NYU forward into this unprecedented technology era.”
