Feryal Clark MP was greeted at the University’s DAWN supercomputer site, which is based in the West Cambridge Innovation District. She was joined by Professor John Aston, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, and Dr Paul Calleja, Director of Research Computing Services at the University.
They took a tour around the DAWN supercomputer and met with academics and industry partners who have big plans for AI and supercomputing here in Cambridge. This visit comes as the Government launches a UK-wide call to get early access to the new AI Research Resource service, which includes DAWN.
Now fully operational in its cutting-edge Data Centre in Cambridge, DAWN stands as the UK’s most powerful AI supercomputer. It houses over a thousand high-end Intel GPUs inside its server racks. The machine features custom hardware and software innovations developed through a long-term co-design project between the Cambridge Open Zettascale Lab-led by Dr Paul Calleja-and tech giants Intel and Dell Technologies, with backing from UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), Stack HPC, and UK Research & Innovation.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Deborah Prentice, also welcomed Feryal Clark to the Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre on the Biomedical Campus. There they explored how DAWN and AI are making an impact on patient care through demonstrations showcasing healthcare advances.
Later on, Feryal Clark checked out the University’s newest brain imaging scanner. She heard from leading researchers who use DAWN’s supercomputing power along with AI to boost patient outcomes and create innovative treatments.
The Minister then met with Professor Zoe Kourtzi whose team is working on better ways to detect Alzheimer’s early by using AI tools that combine various data sources to give a fuller picture of brain health. Professor James Brenton also shared his work on building a clinical decision support platform that brings together cancer patient info from different places into one easy-to-use tool. Finally, Feryal Clark learned about Bill Mc Gough’s project developing an AI tool to spot kidney cancers on low-dose or non-contrast CT scans – aiming to improve kidney screening across the UK.
The University of Cambridge is home not just to top researchers in AI but also students excited about what it can do – plus a thriving innovation community turning this research into startups that create jobs. The University’s flagship initiative AI@Cam pulls together research from different fields to spark new waves of AI innovation that benefit everyone.
