The Leonardo supercomputer, the fourth most powerful computer in the world (Top500, 11/2022), has been inaugurated in Bologna on 25 November 2022, with the participation of the President of Italy Sergio Mattarella. Leonardo joins the regional Data Valley, based in the "Manufacturing Technopole - Data Valley Hub", a top infrastructure at the international level for supercomputing, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, with applications in the scientific and technological field of industry, meteorology, climatology, health and earth sciences. Leonardo will be hosted by Cineca, the inter-university consortium based in Bologna that aims to make the most advanced IT solutions available to the academic and scientific world.
The same area of the Bologna Technopole also hosts the ECMWF Data Center (European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) and represents a strong attractor of international investments, in continuous growth: the next step will be the creation of the first prototype of quantum computer by 2024. For businesses, the supercomputing of the Tecnopolo “offers advanced tools for simulations of processing, materials and dynamic behaviour therefore reducing the time-to-market and costs associated with functional and constructional design. Supercomputing can also facilitate the implementation of effective support systems in decision-making, for example, highlighting imminent maintenance situations even at a distance." Other specific areas of application include space science, neurobiology, bioinformatics and pharmacology.
