PERTH, Australia, Oct. 21, 2025 — The Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre has signed a strategic Access Agreement with the University of Sydney, granting its researchers dedicated access to Setonix – the most powerful and energy-efficient supercomputer in the Southern Hemisphere. The partnership introduces a dedicated University of Sydney allocation scheme, accelerating time-to-science for projects spanning climate modeling, biomedical research, and more.
University of Sydney will receive 20 million compute hours per year, providing access to Setonix’s hybrid architecture, optimized for both traditional workloads and emerging ML/AI applications. Its advanced GPU nodes are designed to accelerate the data-intensive research driving modern scientific discovery.
With this scale of access to CPUs and GPUs, researchers will be able to simulate protein folding, drug interactions, and other complex phenomena that would be impossible without access to supercomputing.
“This strategic partnership with the University of Sydney is a milestone in Pawsey’s mission to expand our impact for researchers nationwide,” said Mark Stickells, CEO of the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre. “The real advantage isn’t just access to computational power—it’s pairing world-class infrastructure with expert people to accelerate solutions to Australia’s most urgent challenges.”
Mark Gray, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Pawsey, highlighted the significance of this arrangement. “Pawsey continues to develop collaboration models that uplift Australia’s research community. Following partnerships with Australian BioCommons and other sector initiatives, this agreement is our first direct institutional access agreement with an Australian university.”
University of Sydney researchers can access Setonix now, with the Pawsey partnership taking effect immediately. It will be supported by a team of research computing experts at Sydney Informatics Hub, the University’s core research facility for research data analysis and training.
“This agreement provides our researchers with unprecedented access to one of the most advanced supercomputing platforms,” said Professor Simon Ringer, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research Infrastructure) at the University of Sydney. “Setonix will empower University of Sydney teams to push the boundaries of data-intensive research across disciplines. It’s a significant step in our commitment to providing world-class digital infrastructure that accelerates discovery and impact.”
About the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre
The Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre accelerates scientific discoveries, fostering innovation in Australia’s research landscape. Named after Australian scientist Dr Joseph Pawsey, a pioneering figure in radio astronomy, the Centre embodies his legacy by propelling over 4,000 researchers towards unparalleled achievements. Spanning domains like radio astronomy, energy, resources, engineering, bioinformatics, and health sciences, we’re a catalyst for innovation. Operating as an unincorporated joint venture between CSIRO – Australia’s national science agency, Curtin University, Murdoch University, and The University of Western Australia, collaboration is our driving force. Pawsey is an NCRIS facility funded by the Department of Education. The Australian Government also provided a $70 million grant for the Pawsey Capital Refresh project. Additionally, support for the Centre comes through the Western Australian Government and our partner organizations.
Source: Karina Nunez, Pawsey