Monash has invested $60 million in a supercomputer designed to boost Australia’s sovereign AI research capacity, with global health challenges the first goal to tackle.
In the hallowed tradition of squeezing a cunning acronym out of the most complex of facility names the facility will be called MAVERIC (Monash Advanced Environment for Research and Intelligent Computing).
It’s the first AI-accelerated supercomputer of its kind for an Australian University and will be powered by 100% renewable energy when it is up and running in 2026.
Monash VC Sharon Pickering said the supercomputer was the missing link that would enable the University’s researchers to tackle major research questions.
“Investment in world leading AI is a crucial step in supercharging our sovereign research capabilities to ensure Australia is well-equipped to foster innovation and discovery geared towards tackling some of the major challenges of our time,” Professor Pickering said.
The investment is also expected to provide a magnet for talent, with potential to grab the eye of researchers in the US and elsewhere who are currently facing funding cuts and uncertainty.
The announcement signals a wholehearted embrace of AI by one of the nation’s largest universities, with a goal to also focus the attention of undergraduates and postgraduates on the potential of human-centred AI to solve major problems in future.