Full Breakdown
NUS Expands High-Performance Computing Capabilities with Hopper Supercomputer
9/19/2025, 11:48:26 AM
Transformative Impact of Hopper on Research
The National University of Singapore (NUS) has significantly enhanced its research capabilities by launching the Hopper supercomputer, which can perform 25 quadrillion calculations per second, or 25 PetaFLOPS. This advancement positions NUS as a leader in high-performance computing (HPC) within Southeast Asia, as Hopper is the highest-ranked supercomputer in Singapore and the only university-operated system on the TOP500 list of the world's most powerful computing systems. Since its activation in June 2023, Hopper has revolutionized research workflows across various disciplines, enabling ambitious projects that were previously limited by time and computational power.
Assistant Professor Mike Shou from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering noted that Hopper has been a game-changer for his research in deep learning methods for video analysis. He emphasized that the supercomputer's performance allows for the generation of both short-form and long-form videos, facilitating applications in self-driving cars, healthcare robotics, and intelligent video creation tools.
Advancements in Biomedical Engineering and Energy Solutions
Hopper's capabilities extend to the field of biomedical engineering as well. Assistant Professor Jin Yueming and her team have utilized Hopper to develop SurgVLM, a vision-language model aimed at enhancing surgical intelligence. This model is expected to provide real-time cognitive assistance during surgeries and improve training for surgical procedures.
In the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Assistant Professor Deng Zeyu has leveraged Hopper to expedite the design of next-generation batteries for clean energy infrastructure. His team has reported that molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory calculations can now be completed up to 12 times faster than with traditional CPU systems, significantly reducing project timelines from three months to one week.
Accessibility and Future Prospects
Hopper's centralized infrastructure democratizes access to advanced computing resources, allowing smaller research teams to engage in high-level projects without the need for their own GPU clusters. By the end of 2025, Hopper is expected to support up to 120 active research projects across various fields, including AI, engineering, medicine, and climate science.
NUS has initiated a university-wide call for projects, inviting researchers from all disciplines to apply for access to Hopper's GPU capabilities, with onboarding already in progress.
Official Statements & Responses
NUS officials have expressed optimism about the transformative potential of Hopper. Assistant Professor Deng Zeyu remarked, “It’s like switching from a bicycle to a high-speed train — Hopper has completely transformed our research pace and possibilities.” Similarly, Assistant Professor Jin Yueming highlighted the supercomputer's role in advancing surgical intelligence, stating, “Hopper’s NVIDIA H100 GPU nodes and the high-speed InfiniBand network have been instrumental to our key experiments.”
Verbatim Quotes
- “Its powerful performance and system stability have laid a solid foundation for our work in video generative AI,” — Assistant Professor Mike Shou, NUS
- “It’s like switching from a bicycle to a high-speed train — Hopper has completely transformed our research pace and possibilities, allowing us to explore new frontiers in battery technology and support the development of next-generation electric vehicles and renewable energy solutions.” — Assistant Professor Deng Zeyu, NUS
- “Hopper’s NVIDIA H100 GPU nodes and the high-speed InfiniBand network have been instrumental to our key experiments.” — Assistant Professor Jin Yueming, NUS
The launch of Hopper marks a significant milestone for NUS and the broader academic community in Southeast Asia, setting the stage for groundbreaking research and innovation across multiple disciplines.
