Mythical inventor inspires name of Greece’s new supercomputer

Greece is to acquire its largest-ever supercomputer – named after the mythical figure of Daedalus – whose installation was set in motion by Digital Governance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Alternate Finance Minister Thodoros Skylakakis, National Technical University of Athens Rector Prof. Andreas Boudouvis and the president of GRNET, Stefanos Kollias, who visited the Lavrio Technological-Cultural Park on Friday to sign a memorandum of cooperation.

The long-term agreement was signed by the Digital Governance Ministry and the NTUA, while a second agreement was signed by GRNET and the technological park. Pierrakakis said the country was undergoing a transition he described as “a major qualitative change,” which not only addresses systemic shortcomings from the past but got it selected, along with other EU countries, to acquire its own supercomputer, which will be much more powerful than anything it had before.

“Daedalus” is scheduled to go into operation in 2024, replacing the existing supercomputer ARIS, with GRNET having responsibility for its development and operation. It will be 60 times more powerful, putting it among the 500 top systems in the world with respect to performance and energy efficiency (Green500).