Supercomputing
The Anton Supercomputer is a powerful tool designed to simulate changes in a protein’s 3-dimensional structure. Typically it takes an enormous amount of time to catch even a glimpse of a protein’s structure and its process of folding and unfolding. It is critical for scientists to understand these movements in order to study disorders like Alzheimer’s disease and cystic fibrosis. A better understanding could yield new discoveries into these and other diseases and assist in developing drugs to combat them.
Although Anton’s focus was on scientific discovery, its design elements were also instrumental in meeting the high standards required by D.E. Shaw. The interior of the company’s Manhattan offices has been featured at the MOMA for its leading-edge contemporary design; the Anton Supercomputer had to uphold this strong design legacy.
The final design was the result of extensive research into lighting and materials. A moiré pattern was created for the shell by creating two different patterns, rotating one, and overlaying them. Numerous structures and substrates were explored to achieve the desired amount of light, the perfect color, and optimal energy efficiency to meet parameters for ongoing power consumption.
47 research groups vied for valuable research time with Anton and its supercomputing simulations have proven to be 100 times faster than conventional supercomputers. Product Insight is proud to have been a part of this exciting initiative and looks forward to following Anton’s ground-breaking research results.
Read our blog post on designing big equipment.
