Powered by pizzas & soda, NRI builds a supercomputer

HOUSTON, NOVEMBER 9 : Virginia Tech’s scientists led by 30-year-old Indian American Assistant Professor Dr Srinidhi Varadarajan have amazed the computing industry by putting together the world’s third-fastest supercomputer in a record time of three months, and at record low cost of $5.2 million, using off-the-shelf components. The tab was kept low by Varadarajan and his team by using hundreds of student volunteers, who were paid only in soda and pizza for assembling the cluster in less than a month. They ate between 600 and 700 pizzas, Dr Varadarajan, who teaches Computer Science, estimates.