ATU Donegal Supercomputer

Dr Michael McCann, principal investigator (PI) for a number of research projects including ATU Donegal’s technology gateway WiSAR has secured funding for crucial High Powered Computing (HPC) infrastructure, €250,000 from the technology gateway capital call and an additional €120,000 from the Interreg VA funded Centre for Personalised Medicine.

This will support research and innovation in data science and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The funding will be used to secure a new state-of-theart high-performance computer and AI platform. This new supercomputer will enable ATU’s scientific community, student base, and industry partners to pursue cutting-edge research on a broad range of topics.

Michael says: “Data-driven business solutions present a substantial opportunity for industry, driving next generation product innovation, reducing production costs, streamlining processes, increasing profits, and accelerating speed to market. However, there are many challenges inhibiting businesses, particularly SMEs, from fully capitalising on the data economy, including a lack of in-house expertise and high infrastructure costs. These barriers have led to a growing demand for high performance computing services among our industry clients. This test bed will also be a critical resource for Atlantic TU, being the first such supercomputing facility within the university.”

A recent report found that Ireland had the highest share of businesses using AI applications among EU member states. The next generation of AI applications demand highly sophisticated computational ability. Investment in supercomputing infrastructure like this project in ATU Donegal, will be an important enabler in sustaining Ireland’s competitive advantage and support research and innovation in this field across the ATU.

Michael and his academic colleagues in the Faculty of Engineering and Technology will be working with their technology gateway WiSAR to launch a technical training programme for industry in utilising the new facility.

Supercomputing allows for the concurrent processing of enormous volumes of data at exceptionally high speeds. It is a key resource for scientists, engineers and technologists in the digital age, in solving a wide array of highly complex problems.

About Dr Michael McCann

Michael holds a first-class honours degree in Electronics and Computing and completed his PhD in Intelligent Systems Design. He has worked in project and programme management including pre-sales and operational delivery in the US and in London. His knowledge of the challenges faced by industry provides him with a unique perspective and skillset for helping shape applied research and innovation strategies in Atlantic TU.

Michael is currently the chair of the research committee at ATU Donegal Letterkenny and has been a strong advocate for driving change and building a healthy research community. Michael holds several key research leadership positions within the faculty including research industry lead for the newly formed AI NoW cross border industry research centre.