AVATAR: Advanced Visualisation and Analysis for Theoretical Astrophysics Research

We request funding for a specialized computational facility at the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA) dedicated to supporting theoretical astrophysics research. The proposed AVATAR computational facility will have extra large memory to enable efficient analysis and visualization of the next generation of extremely large numerical simulations performed on national and international supercomputing facilities and astronomical surveys led by RSAA scientists. The research enabled by this cluster is perfectly aligned with the major research themes of RSAA, covering all of the major research areas. AVATAR will support a recently recruited world-leading theoretical astrophysicist and train students in high-performance computing, data analysis and visualization. AVATAR will cost $446k, of which RSAA will provide $301k. We therefore request $145k from MEC to build this facility.