"Science and industry need computing power of the highest quality - on the one hand, to conduct pioneering research, and on the other, to create innovations", stated Prof. Achim Bachem, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Research Centre Juelich. "With JUGENE, we have now set another milestone in Juelich for cutting-edge research. We will map out the next few stages together with our partners in the German Gauss Centre for Supercomputing and create long-term competitive supercomputing infrastructures in Europe."

At the impetus of the Research Centre and the Gauss Centre, fourteen countries have come together in an initiative known as PRACE and they are currently drawing up concepts for coming European supercomputer generations.

Computer simulations are a key technology for science and they have established themselves on an equal footing with theoretical and experimental research. The supercomputer has proven itself to be a flexible and powerful tool when complex problems have to be solved. Researchers from all fields of study use supercomputers to try to explain how galaxies are formed, how semiconductors function, how proteins fold in cells, or how airplane wings behave.

"Supercomputer users benefit from dedicated subject-specific support in Juelich", stated Thomas Lippert, Director of the Juelich Supercomputing Centre. His approximatively 120 members of staff do not just ensure that JUGENE is ready for use; they also provide information on all aspects of the simulation sciences. In what are known as simulation laboratories, for example, scientific simulation know-how is provided for the topics of plasma physics, biology, Earth system science and the nanosciences. "External groups can make use of our know-how through co-operations and can therefore conduct their calculations and research in a highly efficient manner", explained Thomas Lippert.

JUGENE is currently the most powerful computer of the new Blue Gene/P series manufactured by IBM with a measured performance (Rmax) of over 167 teraflops (trillion mathematical calculations per second). In Juelich, more than 65,000 processors are in operation connected through an extremely powerful communication network. They are compact and energy-efficient and housed in sixteen racks, each around the size of a telephone booth. In addition to Research Centre Juelich, the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Helmholtz Association, of which Research Centre Juelich is a member, were also involved in the acquisition of the supercomputer JUGENE.

"The commitment shown by Research Centre Juelich in the field of supercomputing has proven to be beneficial in many ways", stated Martin Jetter, CEO of IBM Germany. "The public authorities have set a precedent for Germany as a location for research and development." On the co-operation with Juelich, Martin Jetter stated: "Our complementary perspectives in supercomputing allow us to work together towards realising the goal of developing the most powerful effective compact computers."

JUGENE is housed in the large computer room at Research Centre Juelich where its brothers JUMP and JUBL are also kept. The three computers complement each other to such an extent that every scientific simulation can make use of a suitable tool. The Juelich supercomputers are used for calculations by around 200 European research groups. At Research Centre Juelich, scientists from all disciplines - from materials science and particle physics to medicine and environmental science - are afforded the opportunity to request computing time. An independent panel of experts allocate computing time to the best projects.

The Juelich computers can be used by researchers from all over Europe, particularly by researchers from RWTH Aachen University within the framework of the Juelich Aachen Research Alliance "JARA". Also the newly founded joint German Research School for Simulation Sciences will profit from JUGENE.