The world's grids

The world's grids

There are hundreds of computer grids around the world. Many grids are used for e-science: enabling projects that would be impossible without massive computing power.

• Biologists are using grids to simulate thousands of molecular drug candidates on their computer, aiming to find a molecule able to block specific disease proteins.

• Earth scientists are using grids to track ozone levels using satellites, downloading hundreds of Gigabytes of data every day (the equivalent of about 150 CDs a day!).

• High energy physicists are using grids in their search for a better understanding of the universe, relying on a grid of tens of thousands of desktops to store and analyze the 10 Petabytes of data (equivalent to the data on about 20 million CDs!) produced by the Large Hadron Collider each year. Thousands of physicists in dozens of universities around the world want to analyse this data.

• Engineers are using grids to study alternative fuels, such as fusion energy.

• Artists are using grids to create complex animations for feature films (check out Kung Fu Panda for example).

• Social scientists are using grids to study the social life of bees, the makeup of our society, the secrets of history.

• ...and more, more, more!!

Grid computing not only provides the resources that allow our scientists to cope with vast collections of data, it also allows this data to be distributed all over the world, which means scientific teams can work on international projects from the comfort of their own laboratories.

Grid computing is powering science from around the globe, providing the technology to explore new ways of doing science. Scientists can now share data, data storage space, computing power, and results. Together, researchers can tackle bigger questions than ever before: from disease cures and disaster management to global warming and the mysteries of the universe.