Hugo Swire cuts turf on new Met Office supercomputer

11 Nov 2014 12:39 PM

Minister Swire, FCO Ministerial Champion for Science and Innovation, has cut the turf for the Met Office’s new supercomputer.

Minister of State the Rt Hon Hugo Swire MP, the FCO’s Ministerial Champion for Science and Innovation, has cut the turf for the new building at Exeter Science Park which will house part of the Met Office’s new £97m supercomputer.

Mr. Swire said:

I’m delighted by this significant investment. It is a particular pleasure for me to see expertise based in Exeter that has such an impact globally. This supercomputer will give us greater warning of extreme weather events, as well as more precise forecasts of where and how they will strike, helping the UK respond to disruptive weather events such as flooding, strong winds, fog and heavy snowfall more effectively. We already build important partnerships all over the world in weather and climate prediction, and the supercomputer will ensure we remain at the very forefront of international collaboration in these areas. With the UK in second place in the 2014 Global Innovation Index, this investment in great technology shows that the UK – and the South-West - is determined to maintain its proud scientific tradition.

Further details are available here.

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