The Alliance awards $48M+ to the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto to renew advanced research computing infrastructure

(Waterloo, ON) October 15, 2024 – The Digital Research Alliance of Canada (the Alliance) and the Government of Ontario have awarded a combined total of $95,443,800 to upgrade advanced research computing infrastructure at two of Canada’s national host sites. 

The following dignitaries joined emcee and host Eleanor McMahon, Vice-President, University Relations at the University of Waterloo on Tuesday to announce and celebrate the funding: 

• Bryan May, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business and to the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, and Member of Parliament for Cambridge 
• The Honourable Bardish Chagger, Member of Parliament for Waterloo 
• The Honourable Nolan Quinn, Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities 
• George Ross, Chief Executive Officer, The Digital Research Alliance of Canada 
• Dr. Ranil Sonnadara, Chief Executive Officer, Compute Ontario 
• Dr. Charmaine Dean, Vice-President, Research and International, University of Waterloo  
• Dr. Timothy Chan, Associate Vice-President and Vice-Provost, Strategic Initiatives, University of Toronto  

The Alliance awarded $26,200,000 to the University of Toronto (U of T) to upgrade the compute infrastructure of the Niagara system, operated by SciNet.  

The University of Waterloo received $21,848,300 to renew high performance computing (HPC) and cloud storage infrastructure of the Graham systems, operated by SHARCNET. 

The Ontario government in partnership with Compute Ontario, announced a matching investment of $21,195,500 for Waterloo and $26,200,000 for U of T.  

Together, the joint investment will provide researchers across Canada with robust compute capacity and secure storage to advance ground-breaking research in their fields. 

Both projects will harness leading-edge technology to reduce cooling costs and utilize water rather than air resulting in more efficient and sustainable systems for the future.  

This investment is made possible by Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Canada’s Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) Strategy and approved DRI funding for 2023–25.  

Quotes 

“Advanced Research Computing plays a crucial role in the Digital Research Infrastructure Strategy. Investments like the ones we are celebrating today will enhance researchers' ability to leverage data for groundbreaking discoveries and innovations. By expanding  

Canada's supercomputing capabilities, we ensure that the country continues to excel in science and research while staying competitive on the global stage." 

– The Honourable François-Phillipe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada 

“Strong digital research infrastructure provides Canada’s researchers with the tools and services they need to turn big data into scientific breakthroughs. The government’s investments in high-performance computing are helping to maintain Canada as a global leader in the innovation economy.”  

– Bryan May, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business and to the Minister Responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario and Member of Parliament for Cambridge 

"To make new discoveries and innovations in priority areas such as artificial intelligence, cancer research and advanced manufacturing, Ontario’s researchers need access to the most powerful digital infrastructure. That’s why the Ontario government is proud to support the upgrade and operation of the province’s advanced research computing systems, solidifying our position at the forefront of innovation.”  

– The Honourable Nolan Quinn, Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities

“In today’s innovation-driven economy, academic data is paramount to Canada’s future. The knowledge generated by researchers is one of our most powerful assets. We must safeguard these university ecosystems to drive social change and fuel technological advancement. This significant investment in our national compute infrastructure – which will more than double academic computing capacity in our systems – demonstrates Canada’s commitment to scientific excellence and to bolstering our position as a leader in the global knowledge economy. The Alliance is proud to lead this dynamic digital transformation in collaboration with our partners.” 

– George Ross, Chief Executive Officer, The Digital Research Alliance of Canada 

 “This investment will support academic research and academic-industry partnerships that drive innovation and economic benefit for Ontario, in areas such as AI, sustainable energy, transportation, drug discovery and healthcare. DRI-enabled research is also an important training ground for the next generation of Canadian tech talent.” 

– Dr. Ranil Sonnadara, President, Chief Research Officer and Chief Executive Officer, Compute Ontario

“Since 2017, the computing power of University of Waterloo’s Graham Data Centre has been harnessed by thousands of researchers from multiple research institutions to drive innovation in areas from climate change to drug discovery to AI. Being at the forefront of research and innovation demands powerful computing capacity to support the rapid technological advancements made by our students, faculty and entrepreneurs. That’s why today’s announcement of funding for digital research infrastructure is vitally important.  Thank you to our partners at the Digital Research Alliance of Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities for recognizing the importance of this shared resource.” 

– Dr. Charmaine Dean, Vice-President, Research and International, University of Waterloo 

“This significant investment meets the advanced research computing infrastructure demands of the next generation of students and researchers who will provide solutions to challenges in health, climate science artificial intelligence and more. This investment reflects Canada’s leadership in advanced technologies and, fittingly, builds on the legacy of U of T University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton who was recently awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics. The University of Toronto is proud to collaborate with federal and provincial governments and the Digital Research Alliance of Canada to support access to Niagara, one of Canada’s fastest supercomputers, and drive our economy forward.” 

– Dr. Timothy Chan, Associate Vice-President and Vice-Provost, Strategic Initiatives, University of Toronto 

 

ABOUT THE DIGITAL RESEARCH ALLIANCE OF CANADA  

The Digital Research Alliance of Canada (the Alliance) advances and maintains digital research infrastructure (DRI) to support the management, storage and use of national research computing, data and research software. A non-profit organization funded by the Government of Canada, the Alliance serves researchers by improving data access, collaborating with DRI partners, nurturing the DRI workforce, integrating services and enhancing security. DRI is a critical national asset, and the Alliance leverages its capacities to support cutting-edge research and innovation across all disciplines — propelling Canadian research forward now and into the future. 

Media Contact 

Nicole Laven 

Director, Communications & Engagement 

Nicole.Laven@alliancecan.ca 

Quick facts 

HPC and Cloud Infrastructure upgrade at Graham, University of Waterloo (UW) 

• UW is host to the Graham Data Centre operated by SHARCNET, and home to one of Canada’s academic supercomputers. 
• These new funds will enable UW to integrate new equipment along with necessary power and infrastructure upgrades.  
• The Graham project will unfold in two phases, including both cooling infrastructure and hardware updates, with the goal for the system to be available to users Spring 2025. 
• In Phase I, outdated storage systems will be replaced, inclusive of a new warm-water cooling loop in order to provide efficient cooling capacity demanded by new systems. Alterations to the power and cooling will be made to the data centre. A warm-water cooling loop will be installed to provide more efficient cooling to the replacement hardware. With warm water, the waste heat can be captured and used to heat an adjoining building. This will greatly reduce the cooling costs for the new system.  
• In Phase II, cluster replacement for both the Compute and Accelerator (GPU) based nodes will be implemented. 
• The total available storage capacity will be increased by at least 20%, enabled by a more stable, manageable, and complete storage solution. 
• Dr. Linda Nazar, a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Solid State Materials is a leader in sustainable battery research and has harnessed the power of the Graham Data Centre to support her work. Professor Nazar’s research focuses on developing new materials that can store and deliver energy at a high rate. In light of the growing challenges we face this century that include declining oil production, and the realization that we live in a carbon constrained world, alternative energy solutions must be sought. Nazar’s work encompasses hydrogen storage and fuel cell catalyst materials, but her focus is on energy storage materials for rechargeable batteries. 

HPC Infrastructure upgrade at Niagara, University of Toronto (U of T) 

• U of T is home to Niagara, the large parallel HPC Cluster, and its associated Storage Infrastructure, operated by SciNet. 
• Niagara will be replaced by a new, large parallel, system with approximately three times the raw compute power and significant new GPU capacity. 
• Storage capacity at SciNet is expected to increase by at least 80%. 
• The new systems at SciNet will be direct-liquid-cooled, using warm water.  A new warm water loop, with a dry chiller, will be installed, and this will result in a much more efficient data centre. 
• SciNet was key to attracting federal funding to Ontario for the University of Toronto’s Acceleration Consortium, which was awarded a $200-million grant from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) to revolutionize the speed and impact of scientific discovery. Their self-driving labs combine AI, robotics and advanced computing to rapidly design and test new materials and molecules.